Ausone - Saint-Emilion 2020

Vinous

98-98

byNeal Martinthe2/28/2025

The 2020 Ausone has a very crisp and precise bouquet, with a mixture of red and black fruit, crushed stone, black truffle and cedar that gains intensity in the glass. Medium in body, the palate is composed and refined with fine tannins. A taut yet brilliantly defined, pixelated finish goes on and on and on. This is one of the Vauthiers' finest wines in recent years. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe4/18/2023

Wine Advocate

95.00

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

A blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2020 Ausone wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of incense, spices and raw cocoa framed by a creamy patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's pure and concentrated, with a sweet core of fruit, generously extracted tannins and a vanillin-inflected finish. Less seamless and sensual than the lovely 2019, it will require some patience to come together, but there is no mistaking the quality of the terroir here.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

A blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot (the last time it was this blend was in 2010), the 2020 Château Ausone spent 20 months in new French oak, which has already been just about completely absorbed by this beauty. In comparison to the Chapelle d'Ausone, the Grand Vin is tighter and straighter, with an incredible yet primordial bouquet of red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with notions of iron, smoked tobacco, and graphite, with a liqueur of rocks-like sense of minerality. Dense purple-hued, full-bodied, backward, incredibly concentrated, and powerful, it has building tannins, a dense, stacked mid-palate, and enough structure and baby fat to warrant a solid decade of bottle age. This is a powerful Ausone built for the long haul, and it will unquestionably rank with the greats from the Vauthier family.

The Wine Cellar Insider

100

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

The captivates your focus with its showy display of flowers, crushed rocks, black, red and blue fruit, espresso and thyme. It takes a bit of coaxing and patience, but there is an incredible level of depth, purity, refinement, and vibrancy at play here on the palate as the wine gently coats your palate with its layers of salt-infused, black and dark red fruits. The deep seamless finish crosses the 60 second mark and keeps on going as it continues showing off its essence of minerals of fresh berries. This could be the longest lived wine of the vintage. Drink from 2030-2075.

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Vinous

99

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 Ausone is stellar. Usually a showier wine, Ausone is packed with bright acids, deep fruit and tons of supporting structure. Dark red fruit, blood orange, pomegranate, rose petal, mocha and dried herbs all race out of the glass. Deep and layered, with magnificent finesse, Ausone is lights out in 2020. What a wine. Readers lucky enough to own it are in for a thrilling ride over the next few decades.

Vinous

97

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 Ausone, which has slightly more Merlot than usual, was picked from September 14 to 29 and raised for 20 months entirely in new oak before bottling in mid-July, according to the lunar calendar. It has an intense bouquet with blackberry and boysenberry fruit, pain grillé and background scents of licorice. Very mineral-driven. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins and a fine backbone, pure with impressive tension. Satin texture with a dash of cracked black pepper surface with time in the glass. Persistent in the mouth, perhaps without fully developing that knockout crescendo on the finish, though that might evolve with bottle age. Still, this is an outstanding Ausone.

Vinous

97-99

byNeal Martinthe6/25/2021

The 2020 Ausone was picked at 37hl/ha (a little bit less than 2019 according to Pauline Vauthier) on 14 and 19 September for the Merlot, 23 and 29 September for the Cabernet Franc, matured in entirely new barriques with a light toasting. This 2020 has a tightly wound nose at first, needing more encouragement than other recent vintages. It then, almost reluctantly, reveals intense black cherry, blueberry and violet aromas. Maybe this is not as hedonistic as other years? The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannins and a fine bead of acidity. Now the more opulent Ausone comes through, albeit succinctly controlled, with lightly spiced red fruit and a finely proportioned and quite persistent finish. Sophisticated and classy, this rather brilliant Ausone will mature with grace and style.

Decanter.com

99

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

This is powerful and blows away much of the competition with its depth and layers. This needs you to pull up a chair, take a beat, and let the flavours unroll. There is so much density to the blueberry, bilberry and smoked raspberry fruits that they start out knitted down, then as the oxygen opens them up the body of the wine widens and becomes fleshier and creamier, adding chocolate and mocha notes. The limestone scrape is there in spades through the finish, and this is a cleverly constructed wine. As ever Ausone is just a masterclass in how to take apart and then put back together a terroir. Great stuff. First year of official conversion to organic farming. 100% new oak, some in 30hl oak casks. Could go up after tasting in bottle, a potential 100 points.

Anthocyanes

98-100

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Très mure et myrtille, des notes de cassis, de fruits noirs "al dente" avec une trame florale très délicate. Légèrement menthol à l'aération. Texture charnue, juteuse, presque croquante malgré la densité avec une tension sublime et une allonge remarquable. Des tanins très précis, cristallins et frais. Un vin qui s'exprime dans la délicatesse, la précision et la fraicheur avec un côté plus charmeur et plus enrobé. Très aérien. Une esthétique légèrement différente mais toujours les fondamentaux de précision, de fraicheur aromatique et de tension. Un Ausone qui fera date tant par sa singularité que par son excellence.

Bernard Burtschy

98-99

byBernard Burtschythe5/10/2021

Falstaff

97-99

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Anfangs wenig offen. Etwas Amarenakirsche. Pfeffrige Noten. Mit Luftkontakt rote und schwarze Johannisbeere. Dann mehr und mehr harzig-würzige Aromen. Im Mund fleischiges Tannin mit einem kraftvoll Kalk-mineralisch unterlegten Gerbst- offkorn, dazu eine kultivierte, integrierte und dennoch auch vife Säure. Sehr lange Plateauphase in der Struktur, vibrierend vor Spannung, und dann doch auch mit einer cremigen Unterlage, die alles einbettet und abrundet. Große Länge.

My Bettane + Desseauve

98

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021