JamesSuckling.com | JS 99
Published: Mar 27, 2023

The flowers in the nose are spectacular with violets, lavender, and honeysuckle. Then there’s wet stone and freshly cut limestone. Plus there’s raspberries and blueberries. The palate is full-bodied yet very tight and reserved, with fine tannins that run the length of the wine as well as hints of cedar, sandalwood and vanilla bean. It’s long and very racy and complex. Needs eight to 10 years of bottle age to open and come together. Try after 2032.

Decanter | D 98
Published: Jan 3, 2023
Drink: 2028-2050

Deep and layered with rich, ripe blackcurrant, cherry and plum fruit that expands slowly while the texture – sleek, straight and direct – does the talking. Clean with a powdery mineral grip of liquorice and graphite that takes hold and doesn't let go. Structured and focused, no doubt muscular in its power yet so finely knit together. Laser-sharp, serious at the moment, this will take a while before it really starts to shine. It's not out to charm right now but it certainly captivates.

Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.50%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 50% Cabernet Franc 50% Merlot

The Wine Advocate | RP 95+
Published: Apr 06, 2023
Drink: 2030-2070

A blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2020 Ausone wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of incense, spices and raw cocoa framed by a creamy patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's pure and concentrated, with a sweet core of fruit, generously extracted tannins and a vanillin-inflected finish. Less seamless and sensual than the lovely 2019, it will require some patience to come together, but there is no mistaking the quality of the terroir here.

One of Bordeaux's greatest terroirs, perched on the edge of Saint-Émilion's limestone escarpment, Ausone comprises vineyards on the slopes (of which one, "Le Poirier," situated directly below the château, supplies the core of the assemblage) and on the walled terraces that cling to the top of the plateau. It's a sheltered mesoclimate, planted predominantly with Cabernet Franc, with at most 1.2 meters of clay above the rock. The vineyards are old, and when missing vines have been replaced, the replacements are tagged and harvested separately. In the winery, the fruit ferments in wooden vats with twice-daily délestages (rack-and-return) until alcoholic fermentation begins to subside, at which point the cap is simply moistened until the moment of décuvage and pressing. Maturation follows, in a cool former quarry hewn from the limestone, in entirely new barrels (mainly from Taransaud and Demptos) and lasts for some 20 months. The results are invariably compelling, but the 2020 is rather more overtly defined by extraction and élevage than its 2019 counterpart. The terroir always emerges with time, however. 

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17.5
Published: Feb 14, 2024
Drink: 2030-2048

Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Vibrant dark-red fruits, fragrant and open. Very fine tannins, juicy freshness. Much more approachable than many 2020s but with a long life ahead. Elegant restraint and masses of freshness. 

Chateau-ausone.fr

Château Ausone is the jewel of the estate, a masterpiece of subtle elegance. Like a cathedral, it initially presents a big, powerful, mineral profile of Cabernet Franc.

Then comes the Merlot, round and pure with a chiselled texture. Finesse and freshness linger long on the palate, finishing with exquisite balance.
This is a monumental wine that travels through time, polished by its loving passage.