2004 Ausone

A candidate for the longest lived wine of the vintage, the powerful, rich, deep wine is youthful, complex and full bodied. Air and coaxing were needed to find the floral, licorice, stone, black fruit, earth, smoke and spicy character. This needs at least another decade before it’s ready to drink.

Deep garnet. Showing the more meaty character of developing Merlot. Meaty but sweet fruited and still with the shadow of dark fruit. Just a hint of cedary freshness on the nose. Very firm, chewy tannins, still quite a way to go for the tannins to become less thick and constraining. There's a kick of freshness at the end with everything in place for a good life ahead.

One of the vintage’s most compelling wines (what’s new about that?), Alain Vauthier’s beloved 2004 Ausone has closed down considerably since I tasted it out of barrel, but it remains among the most concentrated wines of the vintage. Furthermore, along with Petrus, it will probably be the longest-lived. A dense purple color is accompanied by a celestial perfume of blue and black fruits, wet stones, flowers, and incense. On the palate, the wine exhibits exceptional power and concentration, but this historic terroir has also provided a surreal lightness to the wine’s impression. Beautiful flavors, sensational depth, and abundant structure suggest this 2004 will not be close to full maturity for 8-10 years. It should last for four decades.