Château Ausone - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2017

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/17/2020

The deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Ausone is a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious scents of baked red and black plums, wild blueberries and boysenberries plus touches of violets, espresso, licorice and melted chocolate with wafts of iron ore and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is an exercise in poise, featuring beautifully ripe, silken tannins and bold freshness to support the fragrant multi-layers, finishing very long and very minerally. Drinking Window : 2024 - 2057

Vinous

97 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe3/11/2020

The 2017 Ausone is incredibly precise and sculpted, but also tightly wound in the early going - not that that will be a problem for readers who own it and will cellar it. Wild flowers, mint, blood orange and crushed rocks are some of the nuances that open up in the glass, but the 2017 is not in any mood to show all of its cards. Vertical, rich and explosive with tons of inner energy, the 2017 is a truly regal wine, but it also needs a number of years to be at its very finest. Here, too, the Franc (55% of the blend) really shines. This is a stellar showing from the Vauthier family.

Jamessuckling.com

97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe1/13/2020

Love the perfume and pretty, transparent fruit. Purity. Raspberries. Full-bodied, extremely focused and bright with clarity and beauty. Juicy and savory. Chalk and light chocolate at the finish. Try after 2024, but gorgeous to taste already.

Le Point

18,5 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe6/20/2018

Nez discret, floral, très subtil, bouche soyeuse, tramé, grande élégance, très pur. Long et fin.

Vinifera

98 / 100

byJacques Perrinthe5/28/2018

Nez d’une grande élégance, cristallin, très raffiné dans son expression. Bouche élancée, tonique, qui monte en puissance avec une finale séveuse, parfaitement découpée et une très belle finale sur le fruit. Il déroule un long filigrane. Une épure zen !

Vinous

95-98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe5/15/2018

The 2017 Ausone is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Stunning in its grandeur and presence, the 2017 possesses marvelous depth and remarkable aromatic intensity from the very first taste. Dark red and blue stone fruit, licorice, menthol, lavender and sweet spice build into the rich, flamboyant finish. The 2017 is 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot with the Franc very expressive today. The fruit saw about 30 days on the skins, including a week of cold soak. But those are mere details. The 2017 Ausone is a total stunner. That's all there is to it.

The Wine Cellar Insider

97-99 / 100

byJeff Levethe5/11/2018

Dark ruby with purple accents on the rim, the wine is luxuriant, full bodied, lusciously textured, sensuous and with all that going on, this is also quite refined. The mineral driven, sweet dark red fruits offer an impressive sense of purity. There is per

Vinous

94-96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/1/2018

The 2017 Ausone was cropped at 35hl/ha between 23 and 25 September with respect to the Merlot and 28 and 29 September for the Cabernet Franc. It is aged in 100% new oak as usual for 20 months. It has a crisp, precise, mineral-driven bouquet with slightly more red fruit than black this year: crushed strawberry, hints of cassis, blueberry and traits of freshly tilled loamy soil. The palate is medium-bodied with cashmere tannin and a fine line of acidity. It is very harmonious and already quite seductive. I admire the depth of this Ausone, the sensuality that is conveyed towards the sustained, glycerin-tinged, peacock’s tail finish that lingers for more than 45 seconds. What a great Ausone this is destined to be.

Wine Advocate

97-99 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe4/27/2018

Blended of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Ausone offers up slowly emerging notes of crushed black plums, blackberries and mulberries with nuances of anise, violets, new leather and unsmoked cigars plus suggestions of black olives and truffles and a touch of cast iron pan. Medium to full-bodied with firm, very finely grained, super ripe tannins and an uplifting backbone of freshness perfectly supporting the profoundly layered, tightly wound yet incredibly intense fruit, it finishes very long with mineral accents and compelling tension.

Decanter.com

97 / 100

byJane Ansonthe4/25/2018

This is totally stunning, demonstrating depth, texture, salinity and flesh. It manages to be both austere and generous at the same time, pushing and pulling. It's a totally different conversation to many others wines this year. There was no frost effect here, although some of their other estates were fully wiped out. Harvested 23-29 September from 7.25ha planted at densities ranging between 6,500-12,600 vines per hectare. 100% new oak

WeinWisser

19 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe4/25/2018

Jean-Marc QUARIN

18,5 / 20

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/17/2018

Wine Enthusiast

95-97 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/17/2018

This is such an elegant wine, powerful in dense fruit and complex tannins yet with a sophisticated acidity. It is harmonious, rich in blackberry flavor and a fine, smoky finish. It will age well over many years, although for its sheer pleasure, it could be enjoyed from 2024.

Jamessuckling.com

96-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/6/2018

This is a centered and deep red with blueberry, raspberry, mineral, stone and lemon aromas. Full-bodied, focused and polished. Lovely length. Gentle yet structured. Supple.