Ausone - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2009

Vinous

97 / 100

byNeal Martinthe3/15/2019

The 2009 Ausone has a sumptuous bouquet with pure blackberry, raspberry, rose petal and orange blossom aromas. The wine is beautifully defined blossoms with aeration. It becomes very liquorice and menthol-like after 10 minutes’ aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. It is not a powerful 2009 and it feels sleek and quite tensile. Pure red fruit linger in the mouth with a very deft, almost understated finish. So elegant, so Ausone. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting. Drink 2021-2050.

Wine Advocate

97 / 100

byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Ausone ‘09 has quite an unusual nose compared to its peers – less flamboyant perhaps but no less compelling. The terroir really shines through here. The palate is beautifully balanced with super fine tannins. There is real class to this wine – sophisticated, refined, harmonious and graceful. A masterpiece. Tasted January 2013.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

97 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe7/31/2012

Bright ruby-red. Serious medicinal reserve to the aromas of iron, violet and coconutty oak. A real mineral bath on the palate, with outstanding concentration and energy to the flavors of dark berries and flowers. Hiding more than it's showing today and destined for three or four decades of improvement in bottle. The remarkably palate-staining finish features outstanding tannic spine and grip and great lift for such a big wine. A knockout, and likely to be a Bordeaux monument. 97 (+?) points

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012

A masterpiece in the making, proprietor Alain Vauthier’s 2009 Ausone boasts a dense purple color along with notes of powdered chalk, crushed rocks and wild blue, red and black fruits. Extravagantly rich with great minerality, precision and freshness as well as a voluptuous texture (unusual for a baby Ausone), this is an extraordinary wine. Sadly, there are fewer than 1,200 cases ... for the world. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2060+ (98+ points)

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2012

Incredible nose of currants and blueberries. Flowers too. Licorice. Such purity on the nose of Cabernet Franc. Full body, incredible structure, with fabulous tannins and a long, long finish. Built out of stone. The prefect Ausone. Try after 2022.

Le Figaro

95-98 / 100

byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010

Ces dernières années, le château a dominé de la tête et des épaules tous ses rivaux. Le 2009 est superbe de race et d’élégance, sans toutefois se démarquer des deux ou trois autres vedettes de l’appellation, du moins aujourd’hui. Mais son fabuleux terroir fera-t-il la différence avec le temps ? Robe sombre. Nez de violette d’une grande pureté. En bouche, l’attaque est très élégante, le milieu de bouche arbore de beaux tannins fins et racés, le tout est long et subtil avec une finale incroyable d’une grande pureté, mais sans toute la densité qui marque le fabuleux 2005. 55 % cabernet-franc, 45 % merlot. 100 % fût neuf.

timatkin.com

96 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe6/30/2010

14.85% alcohol. 55 CF, 45M My only criticism here is the level of alcohol and flavours of fig and even prune edging towards over-ripeness. It’s a dense wine showing lots of new oak, sweet tannins and plenty of grip. It should all come together nicely over the next decade or so, but a little more acidity would have made this an even greater Ausone. 15+ years.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

94-97 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2010

(a 55/45 blend of cabernet franc and merlot; cropped at 27 hectoliters per hectare; ph 3.56; 14.5% alcohol; 100% new oak) Bright, saturated ruby-red. Very cabernet franc- and limestone-driven on the nose, offering enticing scents of red berries, cocoa, spicy minerals and violet. Impressively intense flavors of red and dark berries are complicated by bitter chocolate and minerals. This serious, weighty blockbuster is given great verve by strong, mouthwatering acidity. Substantial but even tannins saturate the palate, and a captivating note of cedar emerges with air. This wine is going to require a lot of time in the cellar, but is starting its life with outstanding balance and class.

La Revue du Vin de France

18,5-19,5 / 20

the5/31/2010

Il s'impose une fois encore. Grande attaque, tanins suaves et longueur élégante. La bouche se distingue par sa sapidité en finale, contrôlée par des tanins de grande envergure, fins et moelleux. Ne pas manquer le second vin; La Chapelle d'Ausone offre une très belle densité de bouche et évoluera avec grâce.

WeinWisser

20 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/17/2010

60 % Cabernet Franc, 40 % Merlot, 18 000 Flaschen. Delikates, feinstes Bouquet mit kandierten Früchten, schwarzen Kirschen, Kandisnoten, just fermentiertem Darjeelingtee, feinen frischen Kräutertönen, Veilchen, Cassis und verschiedenen Edelhölzern, die sich in den zarten und doch intensiven Duft mischen. Perfekter umenauftritt, zart schmelzende Tannine, völlig harmonisch, schwarze Beeren, Lakritze, endloses Finale mit dunklem Malz, Vanillemark und eingedicktem Birnensaft. Perfekter St.-Emilion-Klassiker auf dem Weg zur Legende. 2014-2040

Le Point

19,5 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010

Fruits noirs, épices, poivre, olive noire, bouche puissante, dense, épicée, croquant, long, frais et fin, moelleux, tendre, très beau fruit, tannins frais, long. Très élégant. O=2015 G=30 ans

TAST

19 / 20

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010

D'une droiture de composition splendide, il possède une chair de taffetas et un équilibre parfait : un Ausone absolument impeccable comme toujours, assurément, mais cette régularité rend peut-être cette année le succès un rien moins éclatant par rapport à celui de Cheval Blanc et Pétrus...

Falstaff

96-98 / 100

byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010

Frisch, fast rotbeerig, die Frucht dennoch etwas verkapselt, mineralisch, Edelholzanklänge. Wieder nach roten Früchten, frisch strukturiert, feine Schokonote, bleibt gut haften, wirkt trotz des Jahrgangs fast schlank, große Länge.

Wine Advocate

95-97 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/28/2010

The 2009 Ausone, was produced at probably twice the yields of the absolutely remarkable 2008, but is another profound effort from Vauthier. Dense purple in color, with an almost liqueur of limestone intermixed with acacia flowers, blueberry, raspberry, and boysenberry fruit, the use of 100% new oak is completely concealed by the wealth of fruit and the lavish richness this wine exhibits. Nevertheless, there is a striking precision, minerality, and purity to Ausone. This wine might be far more drinkable in 7-8 years than the 2005 or 2008 will be with the same amount of aging. Nevertheless, any person lucky enough to latch on to one of the 1200 or so cases of this wine should realize it is going to evolve for 20-50 years. (Tasted once.) Two more brilliant wines from Alain Vauthier, but you might have to forgive me for not giving a potentially perfect score in 2009. Readers (and I) have been spoiled by my reviews of 2008, 2005, 2003, and 2000. Certainly, his 2009 may turn out to be as riveting, but at this stage, I would have to rate all those vintages just a notch or two higher. Drink 2010-2060(95-97+) points

Periodic Review of Wine

97-100 / 100

byAlan Duranthe4/28/2010

Another massive accomplishment in winemaking, a noteworthy Ausone that will complete with the huge 2008. I would not be surprised if both vintages reach perfection. The deeply-rimmed, opaque purple color is accompanied by a phenomenal fragrance of blueberry liqueur, crème de cassis, blue flower, liquefied-minerals, graphite dust, and wet-stone. Its aromas are gorgeously-pure followed by a medium to full-bodied, extraordinarily rich, rounded, seductive style. This is followed by an immensely pure mouth-feel, and an expansiveness that leads to a colossal finish. The flavour of the fruit is impressive due to its sheer size. But, make not mistake, there is beautiful definition and modernity to this wine that sets it apart from other vintages. Ausone gets better and more pur with each triumphant wine! Maturity period 2021-2060+

Anthony Rose

98 / 100

byAnthony Rosethe4/26/2010

55% cabernet franc, 45% merlot, 14.5% alcohol. Only 6000 bottles made. Dense vivid ruby purple, intensely aromatic and fresh, very inviting, showing no overt oak although in 100% new oak; lovely ripe concentrated mulberry and cherry fruit quality, intense and pure with a mouthwatering richness and freshness of damsony acidity combined; Alain Vauthier’s wine is the quintessence of fine Right Bank Bordeaux, deeply flavoured, intense and wonderfully pure, oak playing second fiddle where so often it dominates, freshness playing its part too where the tannins, although undeniably present, play a supporting rôle to a wine whose sum, ultimately, is greater than the parts. It's a wine you'd love to own - and drink.

Wine Spectator

97-100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/9/2010

Such a dreamy, perfumed aroma to this wine. Full-bodied, but wonderfully polished and integrated. It touches every millimeter of your palate and the texture makes you want to cry. It touches your soul. Goes on for minutes. Another perfect red?

Jancis Robinson

17,5 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/8/2010

Full and gamey and broad and expressive. Very distinctive wine. Still a bit tough and modern and super-focused. Very drying on the end. Quite demanding for now. Drying on the finish. Really quite painful – as though it had been concentrated, or certainly as though the grapes suffered quite a bit of drought stress. Lots of minerality on the finish. Very ambitious. Shades of Pavie 2003? I'm sure many palates will really, really appreciate this wine, and I look forward very much to following its progression as I have the utmost respect for Alain and now Pauline Vauthier interviewed here about the effect of the hail damage her family's vineyards suffered in May. I see the fiche technique specifies a yield of 27hl/ha and 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot but no picking date and I seem to have forgotten to ask. Drink 2020-2035. (17.5+)