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AUSONE
St Emilion GC - 2006
1er Cru Classé "A"
Price:
987.00 €
TTC per bottle
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ASSEMBLAGE: 45% Merlot, 55% Cabernet Franc Robert Parker – 98/100 Drink 2019-2069 One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier has at his beloved Ausone? Boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, precise bouquet of minerals, flowers, blueberry liqueur, and black currants, this wine possesses fabulous fruit and great intensity, but what makes it so special is its precision, focus, and almost ethereal lightness despite substantial flavor intensity and depth. It is a ballerina with density and power. The abundant noticeable tannin is sweet and, not surprisingly, very finely grained. It should be cellared for a decade, and consumed over the following half century. Jancis Robinson – 17,5+/20 Drink - At the end of August the grapes were richer than in 2005 and analytically 2005 and 2006 are quite similar. Alain Vauthier describes it as a rich vintage, rich in alcohol and tannins - some of the Cabernet Franc came in at 14.56%. But it is less homogeneous than 2005. In the winery, they are taken various measures to rid the building of the electric signals the French describe as ‘parasite’ and which are thought to interfere with the wine. Neal Martin – 94-96/100 Drink - Tasted at Ausone. This is a gorgeous Ausone, although not quite up to the 2000 or 2005. A deep limpid purple hue. The nose is intense and floral with blackberry, cassis and violets, with less pronounced Cabernet Franc than other vintages. A rounded sensuous full-bodied palate with grippy tannins, a minerally core but just losing a little focus and precision towards the finish. This will be a medium-term Ausone, more sumptuous in style and more approachable. Tasted April 2007. |
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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 - 2004 1er Cru Classé "A" - 808.00 € | |||
| 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.
