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2021 Château Ausone, 1.5ltr

Removed from a professional wine storage facility; Purchased upon release

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RATINGS

96-97James Suckling

Full-bodied...so elegant and fresh, with a silky, elegant tannin texture. Very deep and expansive. Lots going on already with plenty of perfume. Blueberries, cloves, lavender and some wild-berry notes. Dark cocoa...espresso character at the end. Wonderful interplay of spices and fruit. Long. It keeps going.

96Wine Enthusiast

Fine perfumes show in the sandalwood and toast aromas, and this luscious wine is dense and solid...concentrated, but with elegance and a bold freshness at the end.

96Decanter Magazine (points)

Perfumed nose, full of pot pourri, scented flowers, dried raspberries and cherries. Really quite evocative...smells wonderful and rich with cool blueberries. Round and charming...gorgeously soft, tannins are so inviting, caressing the mouth...delicate and primed to float across the tongue... Almost ethereal in its performance. Really very delicious, full of flavour and character... Succulent, mineral, graphite, limestone touches on the finish...

94+ The Wine Advocate

...seductive...exotic perfume and crystalline purity...unvarnished representation of this superb limestone terroir...intermingling aromas of vanilla, spices and toast with discreet notes of minty dark berries, cherries, petals and pencil shavings. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with an ample and enveloping core of fruit that retains its energy and purity but which gives way to a finish marked by somewhat assertive barrel tannins.

94Vinous / IWC

...quite an intense bouquet, with subtle floral scents of iris and violet that percolate through the black fruit. The oak here is very well integrated, and there is just a faint touch of licorice and clove. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very fresh and tensile...exhibiting a captivating citrus/blood orange sorbet note toward the finish that lingers in the mouth.

94Jeb Dunnuck

...offers classic notes of redcurrants, cassis, iron, spicy wood, and graphite, with hints of tobacco and thyme in the background. Rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and tight on the palate, it has beautiful mid-palate depth, ripe, balanced yet present tannins, and a gorgeous finish.

PRODUCER

Château Ausone

Château Ausone is one of the Premier Grand Crus Classe A of St.-Emilion, which means it is considered one of the finest wines of the right bank according to the region’s historic classification system. Legend has it that the estate’s name is derived from the name of the 4th century Roman poet Ausonius, who lived in the area and maintained a vineyard. But the château itself notes that the link may be more fanciful than fact. Nevertheless the estate, which includes a mere 17.3 acres of vineyards, has long enjoyed one of the best locations in all of Bordeaux on a steep southwestern slope a few meters from the medieval town of St.-Emilion. The estate makes a fraction of the wine made by many of its larger neighbors. The estate makes 20,000 to 30,000 bottles annually of its Chateau Ausone Premier Grand Cru, and about 7,000 bottles of its second line, Chapelle d’Ausone. The vineyards are planted in 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines is 50-55 years.

REGION

France, Bordeaux, St.-Émilion

Saint-Émilion is on the east side of the Dordogne River. At 13,400 acres it is one of Bordeaux’s largest appellations, and perhaps its most picturesque. It is also home to what has been called “the garagiste” movement of upstart, tradition-defying winemakers who produce artisanal wines in styles that are unconventional for the appellation. The village of Saint-Émilion dates from the middle ages and it sits on low hills, surrounded by ancient walls. Like its neighbor Pomerol, Saint-Émilion was not included in the famous Bordeaux classification system of 1855. But a century later a ranking system was put in place, and unlike the classification system for the Medoc, the Saint-Émilion system is reviewed every ten years, meaning that estates can be upgraded or downgraded. There are three rankings: Grand Cru Classé, Premier Grand Cru Classé B and Premier Grand Cru Classé A, with the final ranking being the best. Such legendary Saint-Émilion estates as Châteaux Ausone and Cheval-Blanc are Premier Grand Cru Classé A, along with Châteaux Pavie and Angélus, both added to the classification in 2012. Wines in this appellation are primarily Merlot, mixed with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

VINTAGE

2021 Château Ausone