Ausone - Saint-Emilion 2021

Vinous

95 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe2/28/2024

The 2021 Ausone is a gorgeous wine, but it is also quite reticent and in need of time to come around. The operative word here is balance, as all the elements are so well put together. Soft, gentle contours wrap around a core of succulent red/purplish fruit, blood orange, spice, lavender, rose petal and dried herbs. The 2021 is compelling.

Vinous

94 / 100

byNeal Martinthe2/23/2024

France

Wine Advocate

94 / 100

byWilliam Kelleythe2/22/2024

The 2021 Ausone was the fruit of a challenging growing season, the estate's second year in organic conversion coinciding with notable diseases pressure, but the resulting blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot (featuring a touch more Cabernet Franc than normal) was one of the most seductive wines of the en primeur campaign, its exotic perfume and crystalline purity evoking the great Ausone vintages of yesteryear and offering an unvarnished representation of this superb limestone terroir. In bottle, the 2021 remains an excellent wine, but at least out of the gates, its élevage (in 90% new oak, predominantly from Demptos and Taransaud, with four rackings) has taken the lead, 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. Given the inherent quality of the wine and the terroir, I'm sure time will be kind to it, but I'm not quite sure it will ever realize the magical potential it showed in April 2022. 94+

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

95 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/30/2024

The last year that Ausone will be recorded as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A, and it delivers fragrant tomato leaf and peony aromatics, studded with fennel and white pepper, cold ash, saffran, oyster shell, pomegranate and brambled loganberry frruit. Medium bodied plum colour, plenty of depth through the mid palate. This is right up there with the very best of 2021, and manages to convey the signature of the limestone soils at Ausone, with their grip and understated sense of playfulness. Clear winemaking skill on display, not trying to outrun the vintage, while still bearing the fingerprints of a cooler year. Harvest September 30 to October 6, 90% new oak (down from the usual 100%), 2nd year conversion to organic, Philippe Baillarguet cellar master. Average vine age 55 years. A tough year for this stable of wines - with no release of Simard, Haut Simard, Fonbel nor Moulin St Georges (final decision has been taken over ageing, although a few bottles will be kept at the estate for library purposes). 23hl/h yield.

matthewjukes.com

19 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe8/2/2022

This is a wonderfully suave and cultured Ausone with a quietness and composure that is compelling. The nose is floral and slightly spicy over a core of classic Ausone wild red and black fruit and it is delivered sotte voce with the palate following in a similar vein. The finish is as civilised as it gets, with discreet levels of tannins hidden beneath the flowing crimson gown of fruit. It seems so calm and restrained that you wonder where the classic Ausone power and majesty is to be found, and the answer is on the nose. If you don’t spend some time on the perfume, you will miss everything – the whole story, the plot line, the set-up, the truth. While the finale will happen in a couple of decades time, the cast is complete. If you read the statistics above, just as in any situation, then you might conclude that this is a powerful, oaky, concentrated wine. This could not be further from the truth – it is sensational and as considered, calm and sophisticated as any the very finest in vintage. 19+

Jamessuckling.com

96-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe6/8/2022

Full-bodied, but 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, too. Some espresso character at the end. Wonderful interplay of spices and fruit. Long. It keeps going.

Bettane & Desseauve

95-96 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/24/2022

Encore sur la retenue, le vin monte progressivement en puissance, affirmant sa verticalité avec un fruit tonique qui tiendra dans les prochains mois. Nous le redégusterons en bouteille.

The Vintage Journal

97-98 / 100

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2022

Medium-deep crimson. Complex dark plum, dark chocolate, espresso aromas with herb garden notes. Richly flavoured dark plum, praline roasted chestnut toasty flavours, fine plentiful chalky tannins. Firm and minerally at the finish. Very good mid-palate density and richness. Lovely wine with superb balance and potential longevity. 65% cabernet franc, 35% merlot. Vinification in oak vats, followed by 20 months maturation in French oak.

Alexandre Ma

96-98 / 100

byAlexandre Mathe5/16/2022

Elegant, graceful, every drop of Ausone 2021 presents the elegance of Audrey Hepburn. If Chapelle d’Ausone 2021 shows the adamancy of the Vauthier family, Ausone 2021 comprehensively interprets their understanding of the terroir, “harmonizing with nature”, and the “trade-off” philosophy. Apart from the signature delicate violet fragrance, this wine also boasts fresh and crisp berry aromas. When the juicy cherry, mellow blueberry, and fresh waxberry danced on my tongue, I almost jumped to my feet and went into a tap dance. Who says a difficult year would not yield a nonpareil wine? Ausone 2021 writes an extraordinary story of high-ratio Cabernet Franc. That is how good it is. For me, it boasts the unyielding pride like Chinese plum blossoms in the cold winter. ??????Ausone 2021??????????????????????Chapelle d’Ausone 2021?????Vauthier?????,?2021???Ausone???????????????“???”?????????????“??”?????????????????????,?????????????,????????????????????????????,???????????????????????????Ausone 2021???????????????????????????,??????????:“???????,???????”?

The Wine Cellar Insider

96-98 / 100

byJeff Levethe5/16/2022

Underbrush, smoke, cigar wrapper, espresso, spice, dark cocoa, flowers and the strong sensation of crushed rocks and stones tossed into the Atlantic ocean create the the enticing bouquet. On the palate, the wine is medium/full-bodied, elegant, polished and chalky with layers of sweet, ripe, earthy, red pit fruits, salty tannins, herbs dark chocolate. There is length, minerality and complexity on the mid-palate and a vibrancy to the red fruits with a strong crushed rock influence in the finish. This is a serious candidate for the wine of the vintage. Made from a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot,12.8% ABV, pH 3.6. The harvest took place from September 30 - October 6. The yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Only 1,200 cases were produced this year. Drink from 2028-2065. 96-98

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

95 / 100

byJane Ansonthe5/13/2022

Violet edging, jewel red depths. There is austerity on the tannins here, but also great depths through the palate, with controlled but juicy loganberry and raspberry fruits, and waves of saffron, creamy red-fruit puree, crushed rock, cold ash and salt-cracker salinity. Subdued, with hidden power and complexity. A tough year for this stable of wines - or rather proof of their exceptionally high standards, making a half production of Simard, no Haut Simard, tiny amounts of Fonbel and almost certainly no Moulin St Georges. The last year that Ausone will be recorded as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A, before publication of the new ranking in September 2022. Harvest September 30 to October 6, 100% new oak. In conversion to organic farming since 2020, Philippe Baillarguet cellar master. Average vine age 55 years.

Vinous

93-95 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/12/2022

The 2021 Ausone was picked on September 30 for the Merlot and October 4–6 for the Cabernet Franc, with a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc because some of the Merlot was deselected into the Chapelle. Matured in 90% new oak, this has a fragrant and floral bouquet, more iris than violet, revealing a hint of seaweed in the background. The palate is well-defined, quite strict and focused, certainly one of the more mineral-driven Ausones that I have encountered at this stage. The limestone terroir is evident on the finish. Again, this is a little leaner and less flamboyant than recent vintages. Having tasted Ausone at this prenatal stage for over 20 years, I don’t find the thrilling "drive” or the pyrotechnics of the 2001, 2010, 2016 or 2019. Yet this Ausone is compelling in its own uncompromising way, and I wouldn't want it any different.

Vinous

93-95 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe5/11/2022

The 2021 Ausone could turn out to be one of the wines of the vintage on the Right Bank. It shows terrific balance, with just enough mid-palate sweetness and texture to fill out the layers. To be sure the 2021 is an understated Ausone, but all the elements are so nicely balanced. Red/purplish berry fruit, pomegranate, spice and mocha are pushed forward. The blend is 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, with the Merlot more in evidence today while the Franc is felt mostly in the wine's finish. Rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange add an exotic flourish.

vvwine

97-99 / 100

byAdrian Van Velsenthe5/10/2022

Dichtes Purpur, im Kern fast Schwarz, brillant. In der Nase feinduftig und hochkomplex, dunkle Frucht, Kirschen, Brombeeren, Cassis, darüber Kardamom und ein Hauch Zimt, darunter eine kalkige Kühle, die mitschwingt, faszinierend dieses Duftspiel. Der Auftakt ist kräftig, ein Mund voll Wein, dabei hochelegant und vertikal, kein Gramm Fett, ungemein präzis und mit viel Druck, trotz der Konzentration bleibt der Wein frisch, die Tannine umgarnen die knackige Frucht, die Säure ist wohl dosiert. Im Abgang enorm langanhaltend, endet auf einen Mix aus roten Früchten und zeigt wiederum einem Touch Kardamom im Retrofinale. Grosse Klasse. (Verkostet im April 2022. Château Ausone)

Anthocyanes

97-99 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe5/6/2022

Assemblages réalisés. Avec un nez de cerise noire, de fruits frais, de fleurs de printemps et de violette, Ausone 2021 offre un nez chameur, plein et frais engageant un côté digeste et presque gourmand pour ce cru. Très différent de La Chapelle, le toucher de bouche est plus enrobant, plus suave avec de très beaux tanins veloutés et charnus, ciselés également. Un vin bien dans le millésime, laissant parler son terroir et sa puissance tellurique. Un Ausone sur une réelle pureté pour un style différent et une maitrise technique parfaite. Un très grand vin en devenir.

Wine Advocate

97-100 / 100

byWilliam Kelleythe4/29/2022

A blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, the 2021 Ausone is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild blueberries and raspberries mingled with rose petals, violets, exotic spices, vine smoke and blood orange, it's full-bodied, seamless and sensual, with a satiny attack that segues into a deep, layered mid-palate of breathtaking precision and intensity without weight. Built around bright acids and ultra-refined tannins and concluding with a resonant, perfumed finish, this profound young Ausone represents the essence of this great limestone terroir. I am not in the habit of drinking six-month-old Bordeaux cask samples, but this is one wine that would have sorely tempted me to make an exception to that rule if my appointment at the estate hadn't been one of the first of the day!

Decanter.com

95 / 100

byGeorgina Hindlethe4/1/2022

Vibrant red berry notes on the nose, fragranced damson, blueberry, plum, some wild flower and dried flower touches. Smooth and so silky on the palate, round and gently mouth filling with graphite edges that appear almost straight away. You get that nuance of wet stone and chalk but so well balanced with charming, juicy cherry and blackcurrant fruit on the palate. So perfectly smooth and balanced, silky tannins give the powdery finish while the well-balanced acidity gives the energy underneath. It’s incredibly captivating because you get these waves of flavour and a gentle lick of stone that reminds you you're in St-Emilion on pure limestone. Such verticality and an aerial quality to this with flavours that continue to lift the entire way through. Sustained but graceful with a shy sense of power. Brilliant winemaking for the vintage.