Château Ausone 2008

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

The vineyards of Château Ausone are located on a limestone hill, a small part of which is a plateau with a thin layer of soil, while most of the vineyards are on the adjacent slope, facing south with much deeper soil. This duality is an undeniable asset that the current owner, Alain Vauthier, has been able to magnify. For twenty years, thanks to its harmonious composition and refined texture, Ausone has justified its long-standing reputation as the best wine in the appellation and sometimes even in the whole of Bordeaux. Its longevity in the bottle is extraordinary.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

Named after the Latin poet who lived in Saint-Émilion in the 4th century, Ausone was established in the 14th century on a vineyard dating back to Roman times. Since the Middle Ages, only three families have owned the estate, until Alain Vauthier, the current owner, a distant descendant of Pierre Chatonnet who settled here in 1690. This legendary wine has remained at the top (classified as A since 1959) thanks to this family continuity. It also owes its success to its unique terroir: 7 hectares (including a high proportion of Cabernet Franc) located on the edge of the clay-limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion, surrounded by a belt of rocks that shelter it from the wind. In its two new underground cellars, a wine with astonishing aging potential is born, produced since 2007 by Pauline Vauthier (Alain's daughter) with the help of Philippe Baillarguet, cellar master.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the estate:

On just 7 hectares ideally located halfway up the hillside, with a rare collection of mass-selected Cabernet Franc grapes (which make up at least half of the final blend), Ausone produces a wine that is both deep and refined, infused with great freshness and endowed with extraordinary velvety smoothness. It only reveals its full potential after ten to fifteen years of aging and, in great vintages, is capable of evolving over several decades. Under the wise and visionary leadership of its owner Alain Vauthier, all vintages since 1998 have been particularly successful, with a special mention for the legendary 2005, which has reached a level of absolute perfection. Unfortunately, the château's wines are almost impossible to find and fetch stratospheric prices. Since 2005 and the arrival of Pauline Vauthier as winemaker, the style of Ausone, like that of the other Saint-Émilion properties belonging to the Vauthier family, has slowly evolved towards greater crispness, highlighting the brightness of the fruit (thanks in particular to the reduction in the percentage of new barrels used for aging, 85% instead of 100%).