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AUSONE
St Emilion GC - 2004
1er Cru Classé "A"
Price:
808.00 €
TTC per bottle
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ASSEMBLAGE: 50% CABERNET FRANC, 50% MERLOT
Après un 2003 hors-norme, Ausone resplendit de pureté et de fruits cette année. D’une robe presque noire, son bouquet exprime de douces notes de myrtilles, de cassis et d’épices. Toute la finesse et le potentiel de ce mythe de Saint-Emilion sont ici représentés pour le plaisir de tout grand amateur ou inconditionnel de château Ausone. Pour le rédacteur en chef de la RVF, Ausone est « le meilleur Bordeaux 2004 »…
Robert Parker – 94+/100 Drink 2007-2047 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. Jancis Robinson – 17+/20 Drink 2014-2020 [50:50 Merlot:Cabernet Franc with yields of around 32 hl/ha - some of the lowest anywhere in 2004.] Very dark blackish purple. Looks quite shiny. Very reticent on the nose. Quite strict - much more austere than other recent Vauthier vintages. Lots of taut, very fine tannins, very much a long-term wine which may need quite a few months more to show at its best. Fine grained, the palate builds towards the very long finish. For the moment this is a taut spring that is all promise and little current pleasure. Drink 2014-20 Neal Martin – 94-96/100 Drink 2010- A very deep purple colour. The nose needs some coaxing. It is more delicate than usual, not as precocious than the 2003. The palate is more about poise than power - very fine acidity. Robust tannins, more masculine than in previous years. Huge grip though, its concentration creeps up on you and makes its presence felt on the persistent finish. Very broody at the moment. Perhaps missing that profundity of the 2000 or 2003, yet it has that brilliant poise that makes Ausone so special. A return to the more classic style definitely. It may need time to come around though, perhaps 5 to 6 years. Tasted April 2005. |
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| All wines sold by MAX come direct from the Chateaux and have been stored in professional storage facilities in Bordeaux since the time of bottling.No wines are bought from traders (or private collectors) guaranteeing our customers the best possible provenance and storage history of our wines. | |||
| Other Vintages : | |||
| AUSONE St Emilion GC - 2006 1er Cru Classé "A" - 987.00 € | |||
| DE FONBEL Saint Emilion GC - 2005 Grand Vin - 22.00 € | |||
Within the Saint Emilion appellation, Château Ausone is one of only two wines (the other being Château Cheval Blanc), to be ranked as Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located on the right bank of the Bordeaux wine region in the Gironde department.
Placed on the western edge of 11th century village Saint-Émilion, with elevated vineyards facing south on steep terraces in ideal situation, Ausone takes its name from Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310-395 CE), a statesman and poet from Bordeaux who owned about 100 acres (0.40 km²) of vineyard and it is believed by some that Château Ausone stands upon the foundations of his villa.
For several years, Ausone was jointly owned by the Dubois-Challon and Vauthier families, but after a period of unsettlement, feuding in the courts was brought to an end when the Vauthiers bought the Dubois-Challon shares in the mid 1990s. Alain Vauthier became managing director of Ausone, while Heylette Dubois-Challon won the right to continue to live in the chateau until her death, in 2003.
Michel Rolland was appointed consultant oenologist in 1995. The winery also produces a second wine named Chapelle d'Ausone.
The success of the wine produced at Ausone is attributed to a combination of exposure and the soil, a mixture of sand and clay on limestone unique to the district. The vineyard is 7 hectares (17 acres), arranged with the grape varieties of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot, planted with a density of 6,500 plants per hectare. Due to the small scale of the vineyards, picking may be done at an optimal moment, usually in two afternoons.
Of both the Grand Vin and the second wine - Chapelle d'Ausone - the annual production averages little more than 2,000 cases.
Château de Fonbel [Saint-Emilion Grand Cru] is owned by Alain Vauthier (owners of Château Ausone) and the attention to detail here is to creat a classy and affordable Saint-Emilion, sourced from 20-year-old vines directly below the Ausone vineyards.
