Château Ausone - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2018

Yvesbeck.wine

93 / 100

par Yves Beck le 26/01/2021

Les vignes de la Chapelle d'Ausone se répartissent sur le plateau calcaire à astéries et sur la pente de molasse calcaire. Élevage de mois en barriques. Superbe bouquet fruité, floral et épicé avec une belle symbiose entre fraîcheur et maturité. Attaque friande et légèrement crémeuse relayée par une belle expression aromatique, légèrement suave. Les tannins se révèlent lentement et sont en phase avec la fraîcheur de la structure acide. Un vin élégant, équilibré, invitant que l'on pourra déjà apprécier dans sa jeunesse.

Decanter.com

100 / 100

par Jane Anson le 12/01/2021

Vinous

96-98 / 100

par Neal Martin le 15/11/2019

The 2018 Ausone was picked on 25 and 27 September with respect to the Merlot and the 3, 8 and 9 October for the Cabernet Franc at 35hL/ha. Aged for 20 months in new French oak barrels. This takes a long time to really open in the glass, eventually revealing intense black cherry and bilberry fruit, shucked oyster shells and touches of pressed violet. There is an exoticism here, yet it is behind several closed doors. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe tannin, fine acidity, the alcohol nicely controlled at around 14.4% with a caressing, multi-layered peacock’s tail finish of truffle, black pepper and a touch of graphite. It is not the very greatest Ausone that I have tasted at this stage - it has stiff competition! But is a very gifted wine that expresses the DNA of Ausone, which is exactly what you want.

WeinWisser

19,5 / 20

le 07/05/2019

Vinous

97-100 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 03/05/2019

The 2018 Ausone is off the charts. Deep, sensual and mysterious, the 2018 is going to need many years to show the full breadth of its potential. And yet, there is so much there. Rich and concentrated on the palate, with phenomenal persistence, the 2018 is loaded with energy, tension and precision, offering a compelling interplay of opulence, saline intensity and structure. It is without question one of the wines of the vintage.

Jeb DUNNUCK

96-99 / 100

par Jeb Dunnuck le 01/05/2019

Ratcheting up the intensity, the 2018 Château Ausone has an essence of limestone-like character as well as thrilling notes of blackberries, black raspberries, white flowers, truffle, forest floor, and graphite. Possessing full-bodied richness, a deep, beautifully concentrated mid-palate, ample tannins, and a great finish, this is a powerful, layered Ausone that’s going to need 5-7 years of bottle age but should knock your socks off over the following 25+ years. The 2018 is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, brought up in a mix of new and used barrels.

Decanter.com

98-100 / 100

par Jane Anson le 01/05/2019

Pauline Vauthier is the 11th generation of the family to be producing wine here. It's always such an incredible wine, and as ever you can see that they are playing a different game from so many others. The juice, the slate, the minerality, the drip-drip-drip of freshly squeezed berries, spice and barely-there tannins, the sapidity on the finish. Amazing!
Harvest ran from 25 September to 9 October. 3.6pH. 100% new oak.

Vinifera

98 /

par Jacques Perrin le 01/05/2019

Belle robe soutenue. le nez allie profondeur et finesse. Il se révèle comme un vin fuselé, très droit, parfaitement rythmé, d'une grande amplitude et qui culmine sur une finale aux tanins juteux. Il associe énergie et fraîcheur.

My Bettane + Desseauve

98-99 / 100

par Bettane & Desseauve le 24/04/2019

Vin salivant, du nez au toucher de tannin, en passant par la finale monumentale qui reste élégante. Les caudalies sont infinies et durent plus d’une heure après la dégustation… Il y a tout dans ce vin, intensité tannique et structurelle, texture prégnante parfaitement tendue avec ce qu’il faut de satiné, et une fraîcheur superlative.

La Revue du Vin de France

18,5-20 / 20

le 24/04/2019

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 23/04/2019

The color of purple ink, this wine displays an incredible level of density. It is hard to understand how they place so much fruit in a glass of wine and yet it is light on its feet! There is a purity here that resembles eating fruit off the vine seconds before it was picked. The finish is packed with minerals, red, black and blue fruit, flowers, spice, earth, rocks and stones and it has a 60 second impact. The cashmere tannins, freshness on the palate, density, length and purity are remarkable. The wine is made from a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, reaching 14.5% alcohol with pH 3.65 and is aging in 100% new, French oak for 20 months. The Merlot was harvested on two days, September 25 and September 27 and the Cabernet Franc was picked October 3, 8 and 9. The wine was made from low yields of 32 hectoliters per hectare. If you have the money there are few wines at this level of quality produced from any vineyard in the world.

Wine Advocate

98-100 / 100

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 23/04/2019

The 2018 Ausone is composed of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. The Merlot was harvested September 25 and 27, and the Cabernet Franc was harvested October 3, 8 and 9. Deep purple-black in color, it is an impenetrable wall to begin, unrelenting without persistent coaxing, at last uncoiling to offer glimpses at preserved plums, blueberry coulis, molten licorice and underbrush with emerging scents of lavender, iron ore, crushed stones, charcoal and Indian spices plus a waft of red roses. Full-bodied, rich, decadent and tightly knit, it offers layer upon layer of fruit, spice and mineral nuances with a firm frame of exquisitely fine tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and heart-stopping beauty.

Wine Enthusiast

96-98 / 100

par Roger Voss le 17/04/2019

This blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot is immensely rich, with a huge structure as well as a sophisticated perfume. It is a wine that is built by bright acidity and structured tannins, with a richness and elegance that demonstrates enormous aging potential.

Jamessuckling.com

99-100 / 100

par James Suckling le 12/04/2019

This is really exotic with wild-fruit character that I have seldom encountered in Ausone. Full-bodied yet reserved and very tight. Amazing depth and purity of fruit. Incredible beauty. Sexy.