Château Ausone - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2005

Wine Advocate

100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/06/2015

The 2005 Ausone is a perfect wine of the vintage. It displays crushed rock, spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning purity and richness, and perfect harmony among all of its component parts (acidity, tannin, wood, alcohol and extract). Still youthful, but oh, so promising, this wine should be set aside for another decade and drunk over the following 50-75 years.

Jancis Robinson

17 / 20

par Jancis Robinson le 09/02/2015

Dark crimson – still with a bit of blue in it. Rather indistinct smudgy nose and edgy acidity and tannin. Medium weight and very definitely teenage and a bit surly at the moment. There’s a strong suggestion of oak here and even a hint of dried fruit. Then lift on the finish and the promise of something ethereal eventually. But it will be a long wait. 

La Revue du Vin de France

20 / 20

le 30/11/2014

Jeunesse insolente, sans une once d'oxydation. Fine et crémeuse, l'attaque laisse installer en bouche une matière puissante, hyper tannique et de haute acidité. Construit pour monter en puissance sur au moins quarante ans encore. Sa phase d'ouverture se situe autour de 2025.

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

par Neal Martin le 17/06/2009

Tasted single blind at Southwold. A very well defined nose, dark cherry, cassis and Doris plum with some very classy, new oak integrated into the bouquet. Building beautifully in the glass. The palate is full-bodied, svelte with seamless tannins, opulent but controlled, top quality new oak, very primal but showing good complexity on the finish. Modern style Saint Emilion, awesome poise and length. Drink 2015-2040. Tasted January 2009. 98+

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

98 / 100

par Stephen Tanzer le 30/06/2008

Deep ruby-red. Penetrating aromas of cassis and minerals. The nose does not prepare one for this huge, improbably sweet, palate-saturating wine, whose pungent minerality and epic intensity makes it solid as a rock. The three-dimensional texture here is uncanny, and the wine's explosive finishing flavors of dark berries, bitter chocolate and minerals persist for minutes. This must be one of the three or four greatest young Bordeaux I've ever tasted. The numbers here: 14.28% alcohol, 3.55 pH and an IPT between 80 and 85. This will go on for several decades, and I would not be at all surprised if it shut down in bottle for a very long time. 98(+?)

Wine Advocate

100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 07/05/2008

A tiny production of just over 1,300 cases will make the 2005 Ausone impossible to find, but proprietor Alain Vauthier continues to exhibit the Midas touch with his perfectionist efforts at this estate. This brilliant, blue/black-hued offering reveals an extraordinarily youthful, but promising nose of incense, blueberries, blackberries, currants, licorice, and crushed rocks. This intense 2005 boasts powerful, super-layered, multidimensional flavors with tremendous extraction, yet they come across as incredibly sublime, even delicate for such a stunningly concentrated, full-bodied effort. A masterpiece of concentration and balance, it will no doubt be drinking well a century from now. Anticipated maturity: 2030-2080+.

Wine Spectator

100 / 100

par James Suckling le 22/02/2008

Wine Advocate

98-100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 03/05/2007

La Chapelle d’Ausone only hints at what purchasers will find in the 2005 Ausone, a 50- to 100-year wine whose production consists of a mere 15,000 bottles. Black as a moonless night with a soaring nose of spring flowers, creme de cassis, melted licorice, truffles, and blueberries, it is incredibly intense with extremely high extract, tannin, and alcohol, yet is unbelievably delicate and light on its feet for such a massive wine. This is a brilliant winemaking achievement from an extraordinarily hallowed terroir on the southern hillside slopes of St.-Emilion. The 2005 will not be ready to drink for 15-20 years, but in a hundred years, wine lovers will still be singing its praises. An amazing accomplishment! Alain Vauthier has accomplished such extraordinary things at Ausone over the last few vintages, it is difficult to imagine the 2005s might be the pinnacle of his achievement. However, Vauthier never rests on the status quo ... so who knows?

Wine Advocate

96-100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 26/04/2006

I’m not going out on a limb saying the 2005 Ausone is better than the 2003, 2000, etc., but it is certainly at the same level. It is a wine of great intensity with extraordinary extract as well as a seamless integration of huge levels of tannin and alcohol. Amazingly deep and multilayered, but so ethereal it must be tasted to be believed, it is a rich, full-throttle offering that should outlive us all. It should not be consumed before 2020, but I suspect 95% of it will be long gone by then. Kudos to Alain Vauthier for pushing the envelope as far as anyone in Bordeaux is doing today. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2100!

Wine Spectator

95-100 / 100

par James Suckling le 30/03/2006

Loads of blackberry, spice and toasted oak character. Full-bodied, with layers of velvety tannins and amazing fruit. Long and seductive. Layered. This could be even better than the 2003 and 2000. Fantastic. —J.S.