Named for a 4th Century Roman poet who planted vines on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, Château Ausone has stood strong in the face of the expected ebbs and flows that come with such a vast historical timeline. One of the more modern heights includes its official classification in 1954 as one of two properties to hold the prestigeous title of Premier Grand Cru Classé A. While these wines have been viewed as standard-bearers of the St-Émilion for decades, even beyond their eventual withdrawal from the classification due to disagreements with the judging criteria, the château found lasting success under the guidance of Alan Vauthier upon his arrival in 1976. Leaning on many generations of winemaking wisdom passed down since the 17th century, Libourne-native Vauthier understood the local terroir and how to embrace its best expression.
The small property of just 17 acres sits perched on rare limestone soils, prized for its ability to encourage roots to grow deep, a common attribute amongst some of the finest wines in the world. Limestone is extraordinarily compatible with Cabernet Franc, a variety of incredible freshness and savory pepper tones, which makes up half of Ausone’s. Blended with more forward, juicy Merlot, these wines sing with pure fruit expression, showing off blue plum and violets, which is further rounded out with lengthy time in 100% new French oak. Ausone wines are powerful and pristine, adored in any modern vintage, but especially transcendent in the early 2000s.
2000 was a legendary vintage, a warm and drama-free year translating to richness and concentration in the final wines capable of many decades of age. 2003 resulted in similarly full-bodied wines with hot weather creating intense and deeply rich wine, inspiring Robert Parker to assign it his rare 100-point score, stating the wine “boasts a glorious nose of violets, truffles, lead pencil shavings, blueberry and blackberry liqueur…deep, multidimensional, [and] profound.” These rare Cab Franc-dominant styles are not to be missed!
