Chateau Ausone 2019

The maturation further highlights the distinctive aromatic complexity; on the palate, power, depth and an excellent polish of the tannins are in perfect balance. La Chapelle is also particularly successful and highly recommended.

The en primeur sample of the 2019 vintage, as I did not taste in the spring. Full of vivacity and austerity, dominated by Cabernet Franc, showing roundness and depth to the black fruits as they open, with clear bilberry, cassis and blueberry, a ton of gentle charred smoke notes and graphite. Strong opulence and huge tannins. A wine that is going to age for decades.

Like a bouquet of fresh flowers on the nose, as well as blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. Sandalwood as well. Full-bodied with incredibly polished tannins that have the texture of the finest velvet. The palate is very fine, oriented with fabulously pure fruit and minerally, stony undertones on the finish. It’s so classical in nature. Essence of Ausone. 60% cabernet franc and 40% merlot. From organically grown grapes. Best after 2027.

The 2019 Ausone has a perfumed nose with another Cabernet Franc-driven set of aromas, gravel and loam infusing the black fruit. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a beautifully sculpted wine with a killer line of acidity and immense precision on the finish. This just sashays along with style. Fabulous. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

A brilliant wine in every way, Alain Vauthier's 2019 Château Ausone reveals a dense purple color as well as an incredible bouquet of ripe black cherries, blueberries, acacia flowers, lead pencil, and classy oak. It shows the elegant style of the vintage yet brings a wealth of fruit, lavish richness, and a great, great finish, all while holding onto beautiful precision and purity. It has some accessibility today (surprising for a young Ausone) but deserves at least 7-8 years of bottle age and will evolve for well over three decades.

The 2019 Ausone, composed of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with notes of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and mulberries, followed by evocative scents of star anise, lilacs, and Oolong tea with a waft of iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is elegant, lively, and mineral-sparked, featuring bright, energetic fruit and a long ferrous finish.

Historic share of Cabernet Franc for this chapelle, accounting for 60% of the blend, bringing complexity and backbone to the already very flavorful, rising finish.

In keeping with Ausone’s great vintages, the 2019 release is perfectly balanced. Still marked by a Jansenist austerity despite the vintage’s sweetness, it shows all the hallmarks of the “Ausonian” profile, enhanced by an unprecedented power—the power of the vintage.

Château Ausone is solemn, imposing, sound, and radiates a supremacy that calls for silence and respect. Every register is activated: fruit, vegetal, spicy, and finally mineral. Each element reveals itself with finesse, more or less intensely but with an unexpected sense of restraint. The attack can be disconcerting; Ausone begins by seducing, showing a suppleness and kindness that are certainly appreciable, yet invite you to brace for a subtle display of power. The palate can be summed up very explicitly: it is round, silky, creamy, powerful, vibrant, tight, ample, and elegant. The height of paradox, the harmony of antonyms, the ability to sing a lullaby at 130 dB! What a great wine… it’s in the leading pack, yet ahead of everyone.

Intense, dark purple color. Highly aromatic nose, delicate, fruity, subtle and noble. Ultra-precise on the attack, ultra-melting at mid-palate, with a refined touch and great delicacy; the cru stretches out long, combining smoothness with a hint of austerity. Decanting releases raspberry on the nose and leaves a supple, impossible-to-spit mouthfeel. It is very, very good.

The wine's power and density shows against its beautifully textured black fruits. With richness and concentration, this is serious, impressive and needing plenty of aging. It is magnificent, not to be drunk before 2027.