2016 Ausone
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2016 Ausone offers a mixture of red and black fruit, wilted violet and iris flower, subtle veins of blue fruit that only emerge with aeration. Fine delineation. The palate is lively and animated on the entry. Great tension, very focused, gentle grip with a bright, white pepper-tinged finish. Not quite the multi-dimensional Cheval Blanc but there is real nuance and class here. N.B. One bottle tasted blind at Farr's was oxidized. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10 Year On tasting in London.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Wine Enthusiast
More reviews and scores
Currant, cedar, tobacco and dark chocolate aromas. The palate is round and full-bodied, with evenly distributed dark fruit that dissolves into a chocolaty, very refined expression. The quality of the tannins, combined with the sumptuous fruit, gives this wine real presence. Accessible now, but built to age for a long time. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective.
A full point alcohol lower than the 2015 and yet it still retains its rich character, plenty of backbone and just the right level of creamy black fruits with pomegranate, smoked sandalwood, baking spice, graphite, coffee bean, huge drawn out length. A masterclass in showing why people get so excited about this vintage, with its depth and character and just joyfulness. 40hl/ha, 80% new oak. A clear standout in this exceptional lineup.
Tasted blind. Mid crimson. Sweet, medium intensity and only slightly medicinal. Quite a bit of alcohol and acidity that are not by any means married. Very youthful. Finish is for the moment decidedly stringy. Then falls away. Ch Quintus? (JR)
About the producer
Ch. Ausone is one of Bordeaux’s most respected estates. At this small property, perched atop a hill overlooking the town of Saint-Emilion, the Vauthier family produces some of the finest wines in the region.