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Château Ausone 2018

Château Ausone, Bordeaux, France

Château Ausone
Bordeaux France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 135 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 13 Pros of
    13 recommend
    this wine
337 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    109

  • Producer ranking ?

    2

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    from 2025

  • Food Pairing

    grilled Flank Steak with Parsley Sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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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...

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The Story

Ausone owes its unique quality and longevity to a magic marriage of situation and soil. The steep slopes of the vineyard are arranged like an amphitheatre, facing southeast, which gives perfect exposure and maximum protection, and the soil is a mixture of clay and sand on limestone. When old vines and the ability to pick the entire vineyard quickly, due to the small size, are added to the recipe the result is something special. Ausone grows in...

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Wine Information

Alain Vauthier has made massive improvements at Ausone since taking full control of the winemaking and management of his family property in 1997. The wines made here are now in a totally different league from those produced in the 1970's and 1980's. Ausone vies with Petrus and Cheval Blanc as the right bank's top Chateau. With production levels even less than those of Petrus, Ausone has become one of the most in demand and hard-to-find wines o...

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Vintage 2018

Report and recommendations for the 2018 Bordeaux vintage

by Andrew Caillard MW

2018 is an exceptional year. Bordeaux whites and Sauternes are very good, but from an Australian perspective, the excitement is all in the red wines. All sub-regions produced examples of very good wines, but some performed better than others. Generally, the largest estates have made exemplary wines illustrating that the human factor and wealth can have a major...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

17 tasting notes

Tasting note

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Written Notes

Ruby. Scented, blackberries, blueberries, cassis, detailed, layered nose, rich. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, anise, blackberries and spices, layered and nuanced, bright and rich, incredible length, just goes on and on. 99

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  • 99p

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.

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  • 100p

Mouth-watering wine, from the nose to the tannin feel on way of the monumental finale that stays elegant. Caudalies are infinite and last more than an hour after tasting. Everything is there, in this wine, intensity of tannins and structure, mouth-filling texture, perfectly tense with the right touch of satin, and a superlative freshness. 98-99

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  • 98p

Deep crimson. Dark chocolate mocha ripe plum mulberry fruits with graphite mineral notes. Gorgeously balanced wine with supple dark berry fruits, roasted chestnut, mocha notes, lovely mid palate richness and long fresh acidity. A slight aniseed kick at the finish. Plush yet brilliantly ballanced wine with lovely fruit complexity volume and drive. One of the best.

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  • 99p

Dark purple red colour with violet hue and almost black core. Excellent nose with slightly closed character but great potential. Juicy berries, blackberries and mulberries, ripe dark stone fruit, elegant roasting aroma with hints of dark chocolate, vanilla and mild spices. On the palate a powerful wine yet very elegant character, amazing depth and length, ripe tannins, a wine with true class 

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  • 98p
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Information

Origin

St.Emilion, Bordeaux

Inside Information

97-100 ANTONIO GALLONI: "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."

98-100 THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "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."

96-99 JEB DUNNUCK: "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."

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