Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 92 / 100 byStephen Tanzerthe8/30/2010 Full red-ruby color. Inky black cherry, blueberry, licorice and bitter chocolate on the nose, plus a whiff of roasted meat that quickly dissipated. Dense and chewy on the palate, with very good intensity to its dark fruit, leather and chocolate flavors and a pronounced rocky quality. Showed increasing vibrancy with aeration but there's no easy sweetness to this soil-driven wine. Struck me as a bit energetically extracted. Finishes broad and long, with substantial dusty tannins. I'd forget about this for at least a few years. (92(+?) points)
Wine Advocate 94 / 100 byRobert Parkerthe4/30/2010 The 2007 Ausone is a candidate for one of the wines of the vintage, rivaling Pavie and Lafite Rothschild. Its deep ruby/purple hue is accompanied by a beautiful nose of spring flowers, raspberries, black currants, and crushed rocks. The wine is dense, medium to fullbodied, and pure with sweet tannin as well as a surprisingly evolved, forward style. It is one of the few Ausones I have tasted that can be drunk with great pleasure at this stage, yet it promises to evolve for two decades. Drink 2010-2030
Wine Spectator 91 / 100 byJames Sucklingthe3/31/2010 Berry and milk chocolate aromas, with hints of flowers, follow through to a medium-to-full body, with very silky tannins and a delicious, fruity finish. Subtle and pretty, balanced and gorgeous. So refined and caressing. Best after 2013.
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 91-93 / 100 byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2008 Bright medium ruby. Dark berries, graphite and violet on the perfumed nose and palate. Suave, creamy and seamless, with terrific inner-mouth energy to the concentrated fruit flavors. Boasts wonderful volume and sweetness for the vintage. Not at all a blockbuster-and less structured and youthfully aggressive than the 2006-but shapely and long on the aftertaste, with rather suave tannins. This is likely to give pleasure much earlier than the 2006 and 2005.
Falstaff 92-94 / 100 the6/30/2008 Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, fast opaker Kern, violette Reflexe. In der Nase ganz pure Frucht, dunkle Beeren, vielleicht noch eine Spur verhalten, feine Gewürze und Edelholzaromen. Am Gaumen präzise und elegant, bleibt sehr lange haften, ungemein balanciert, perfekte Tannine, zart nach Schokolade, mineralisch, sehr geschliffen, alles am rechten Fleck, reife Herzkirschen im Abgang, feinwürziger Rückgeschmack, zeigt echte Premier-Cru-Rasse.
Le Point 17,5 / 20 byJacques Dupontthe5/15/2008 Fruits noirs épices, très beau fruit, complexe, réglisse. Bouche dense, moelleuse, ronde, souple, tendue, ferme, longue, tendre très joli fruit, rond, long, élégant, gourmand.
TAST 18,5-19 / 20 the4/29/2008 Le contraire d’une course à la puissance : délié, raffiné, très subtilement construit avec le grain de tannin le plus raffiné de Bordeaux, une texture de soie et une fraîcheur ravissante. Alain Vauthier est un maître au sommet de son art, mais on le savait déjà…
Wine Advocate 94-96 / 100 byNeal Martinthe4/28/2008 A deep black/purple colour. Like many other wines, the nose is quite taciturn at first, but it unfurls just like the Cheval Blanc to reveal some lovely pure blackberries, briary and bilberry. Very good definition and sense of minerality. This has immense concentration, very ripe black fruit and no evidence of any greenness at all. Lovely texture and focus, sappy finish. Great length, minerals all over the show. Excellent. Tasted April 2008.
Jean-Marc QUARIN 17 / 20 the4/25/2008 Couleur rouge, pourpre, sombre, belle. Nez intense, fruité, de type mûr. Notes crémeuses. Entrée en bouche ample et le vin se développe caressant et extrêmement fruité. Plutôt gras, plein en milieu de bouche, il s'achève sur un tannin présent, mais enrobé. Bonne longueur savoureuse. C'est très bon dans un registre tendre.
Jancis Robinson 17 / 20 byJancis Robinsonthe4/15/2008 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot. Heady. Rich and heady. A bit angular, not exaggerated but in this damp vintage not as mellifluous as Cheval’s gravel-based wine. Some green notes, a little awkward. Not Ausone’s finest hour, I feel. A bit chewy and green. We have to take the development on trust really, although I know the wine provoked greater enthusiasm a couple of days before. 17++
Decanter Magazine 18 / 20 the4/4/2008 Clearly another impressive wine from this very consistent estate but with less tannic power than 2005 or 2006. 55% Cabernet Franc in the blend provides a perfumed aroma and freshness. The tannins are long, linear and silky and there's a solid depth of fruit behind. Drink 2015-2030.
Wine Spectator 90-93 / 100 byJames Sucklingthe4/1/2008 Complex aromas of rose, mineral, blackberry and licorice follow through to a full body, with fine, racy tannins and a medium-long finish. Racy and stylish. —J.S.