2020 CHÂTEAU AUSONE 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion, Lea & Sandeman

CHÂTEAU AUSONE

2024 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion

Grapes Cab Franc, Merlot
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Saint Emilion & Satellites
Village Saint Emilion
Classification 1er Grand Cru Classé
ABV 13%

65 Cabernet Franc, 35 Merlot: 100% new oak for 20 months in underground quarries: 13.6% alc: The Merlot was harvested on 30 September and 1 October, and the Cabernet Franc was harvested on 4 and 5 October An extreme selection was carried out at Ausone, resulting in an amazingly focused and unwavering style of wine. They employed a very gentle extraction here, which brought out the fruit’s full potential, which was, thankfully, fully ripe and gloriously complex. Alongside the indefatigable depth of flavour comes incredible composure. While this wine is an enormous step up on the second wine, La Chapelle, which dutifully did the bidding of its master by sacrificing its Merlot, the result is undoubtedly one of the most long-lived wines of the vintage, given the tannin structure, which is unlike any other wine. There is a cathedral of tannin here, with amazingly revitalising acidity, and these twin traits underpin a severity and strictness of fruit of the likes I have not seen anywhere else in 2024. The nose is stunning, and the build quality is exacting. Given the sensational rigour and determination, this wine will not be to everyone’s tastes. There is an impression that each individual berry has joined forces with its teammates to elevate this wine to a new plane. Typically atypical and shockingly addictive, this is one of the wines of the season, and you will have to wait 25 years before pulling a cork to see this for yourself. Rating: 19.5++/20 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2025)


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Deep ruby in colour, this delivers texture and flavoursome sappy fruits, clear winemaking skill that maintains estate signature. You feel the tightrope walk of minerality and fruit, and as in 2021 Ausone is at the very top of what was possible in the vintage. Cassis bud, peony, violet, cloves, jasmine flowers, chamomile, subtle complexity and layers that expand and build through the palate. The successful construction of this wine highlights what was so challeging to fully achieve with so many others in the vintage. Harvest 30 September 5 October, Philippe Baillarguet cellar master. 100% new oak. Drinking range: 2032 - 2046 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2025)

A really classic Ausone, reminiscent of the great ones of the 1980s. Medium-bodied, it has such clarity and brightness and length. Purity and precision with drive and focus from superb viticulture and winemaking. A blend of 65% cabernet franc and 35% merlot. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2025)

The 2024 Ausone was picked between September 30 and October 5. It aged for 20 months in new French oak from 5 cooperages with malo in barrel as usual. There is slightly less Merlot in the blend due to mildew and coulure during the season. It has a very pure nose with black cherry, wild strawberry and a touch of cracked black pepper in the background. It just misses some of the profound complexity that a top Ausone can deliver. The palate is lovely, though, one of the most velvety 2024s that I tasted out of barrel. This is very harmonious with a focused and sustained finish. Whilst it doesn't quite have the horsepower or sheer ambition of a top-drawer Ausone, this is a success for the vintage simply because it is endowed with greater substance and persistence. There's presence here. Drinking range: 2029 - 2055 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2025)

Château Ausone

Unquestionably one of the biggest names of the Right Bank, this is also one of the oldest chateaux in the whole of Bordeaux. Situated at the edge of the limestone plateau on the approach to the village of Saint Emilion, at an altitude of 75 metres, Ausone dominates your view as you drive in to the village, with its beautiful stone gateposts, steeply sloping vineyards, and dry stone walls. Underneath the chateau are kilometre upon kilometre of stone quarries, the smallest of which (at 1,800m2) is the wine cellar. This was excavated back in the 16th century (most of the stone in Saint Emilion ended up building either the village itself, or the handsome limestone buildings in central Bordeaux). Further underground are stone vaults dating back 500 years! The humidity in the cellars is at well over 90%, meaning that they rarely have to perfrom ouillage (topping up), and the angel's rarely get their share! Above ground there is also the Magdeleine chapel (hence the name of the second wine of the estate, Chapelle d'Ausone), which again adds to the sense of mystique on visiting Ausone. They are currently renovating the chapel, and also creating a small room for receiving visitors (although don't hold your breath that this will ever be a centre for wine tourism - the Vaultier family are very discreet, and it is tough to get an appointment here). One of the smallest of all the top estates in Bordeaux, at just over seven hectares (smaller than its Saint Emilion rival Cheval Blanc, smaller even than Petrus in neighbouring Pomerol, but twice the size of le Pin), vines have been cultivated here since the time of Roman poet Ausonius. I'm not sure anyone is suggesting that Ausonius actually owned this vineyard, but it is likely to have been named in his honour.

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