Ausone 2018

Château Ausone is one of the most prestigious Saint-Emilion producers and its low yields make it one of the most sought after wines in the world.  Château d'Ausone is a tiny estate: just seven hectares and there's something almost mythical about this property, which produces long-lived wines that can thrill with their intensity, density, and length.

Review

"The 2018 Ausone is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, rather predictably, the nose is almost completely shut-down on first sniff, taking considerable aeration to begin to reveal its jaw-dropping perfume of ripe black cherries, wild blueberries and plum preserves, leading to suggestions of candied violets, molten chocolate, liquorice and crushed rocks with subtle cedar and pencil lead hints. The medium to full-bodied palate (14.5% alcohol) is so tightly wound and nuanced at this stage, it requires a lot of focus unravel all that is going on here. In short: a lot. The ripe, rich, black and blue fruit layers eventually give way to the beautifully cerebral earthy/minerally subtext, carried by fantastically well-knit tension, delivering an incredibly long, foundation-shaking finish." - 100pts - Wine Advocate