Château Ausone 2017
Review of the Estate
Chateau Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, one of only four wines, to be ranked Premier Grand Cru Classè (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. Chateau Ausone is located on the Right Bank of France's Bordeaux wine region in the Gironde department, close to the town of Saint-Émilion.
Chateau Ausone also produce a second wine named Chapelle d'Ausone.
Placed on the western edge of 11th century village Saint-Émilion, with elevated vineyards facing south on steep terraces in ideal situation, Chateau Ausone takes its name from Decimius Magnus Ausonius (310-395 AD), a statesman and poet from Bordeaux who owned about 100 acres (0.40 km2) of vineyard. It is believed by some that Chateau Ausone is on the foundations of his villa.
The modern estate can be dated to the 18th century, when it was owned by Jean Cantenat. Later, under the ownership of the Lafargue family,Chateau Ausone was inherited by Edouard Dubois who steered the chateau through the difficulties of the late 19th century, and in 1916 added the adjacent Chateau Belair to their estate. The chateaux were run separately, although both age their wine in the Ausone cellars, caves in the limestone cliffs beneath the town of Saint-Émilion. After Dubois died in 1921, his widow Heylette Dubois-Challon and Dubois' children of a previous marriage who married into the Vauthier family took control over Chateau Ausone.
Despite being one of the great names of Bordeaux, Chateau Ausone fell into decline until Pascal Delbeck was appointed winemaker in 1976.
For several years Chateau Ausone was jointly owned by the Dubois-Challon and Vauthier families. Alain Vauthier became managing director of Chateau Ausone, while Heylette Dubois-Challon won the right to live on the chateau until her death in 2003.
Michel Rolland was appointed consultant oenologist in 1995.
Vineyard
Surface area: 17.3 acres
Grape Varieties: 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc
Average age of vines: 50 - 55 years
Density of plantation: 6,000 - 7,8000 vines per hectare
Average yields: 35 hectoliters per hectare
Average cases produced: 1,800 per year
Plateau of maturity: 5 - 100 years
Château Ausone 2017 Reviews / Tasting Notes
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate
Point Score: 98
The deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Ausone is a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious scents of baked red and black plums, wild blueberries and boysenberries plus touches of violets, espresso, licorice and melted chocolate with wafts of iron ore and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is an exercise in poise, featuring beautifully ripe, silken tannins and bold freshness to support the fragrant multi-layers, finishing very long and very minerally.
Side Note:
Because of the frosts, there is no Simard this year. On the bright side though, the flagship wine here is blow-you-away extraordinary.
"I think now we are making wines that have the ability to drink now and also age," Pauline Vauthier told me. "I think the technique of the winemaking has changed. We are becoming lighter with extraction. Now it is about maceration...like a tea bag," she smiled. With absolutely no frost damage to the 2017 crop at Chateau Ausone this year, Alain and his daughter Pauline have nailed the expression of the 2017 vintage, revealing the disarming beauty of this year with layers of perfume and wonderfully "sweet," super ripe tannins, plus the arresting intensity that the best examples possess. Bravo/brava!
Antonio Galloni - Vinous
Point Score: 99
The 2017 Ausone is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Stunning in its grandeur and presence, the 2017 possesses marvelous depth and remarkable aromatic intensity from the very first taste. Dark red and blue stone fruit, licorice, menthol, lavender and sweet spice build into the rich, flamboyant finish. The 2017 is 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot with the Franc very expressive today. The fruit saw about 30 days on the skins, including a week of cold soak. But those are mere details. The 2017 Ausone is a total stunner. That's all there is to it.
Decanter
Point Score: 97
This is totally stunning, demonstrating depth, texture, salinity and flesh. It manages to be both austere and generous at the same time, pushing and pulling. It's a totally different conversation to many others wines this year. There was no frost effect here, although some of their other estates were fully wiped out. Harvested 23-29 September from 7.25ha planted at densities ranging between 6,500-12,600 vines per hectare. 100% new oak.