Ausone 2000

Château Ausone 2000 is a highly-regarded vintage from one of Bordeaux's most prestigious estates. The grapes were harvested by hand and underwent a rigorous selection process, resulting in a wine of exceptional quality. Displaying a deep, ruby color, while on the nose, it offers intense aromas of black fruits, such as blackcurrant and blackberry, along with hints of tobacco and vanilla. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and complex, with flavors of ripe dark fruit, chocolate, and coffee. It has a firm tannic structure, but with a silky texture and a long, lingering finish. 

Robert Parker - 98+ Points

"Two bottles were badly corked, which is certainly a scary situation for a wine where only 1,000 or so cases were produced. However, a third bottle was magical and just short of perfection. Its saturated purple color was followed by a surprisingly more evolved and open wine than I had written in my tasting note in 2003, where I predicted maturity between 2020 and 2075. This wine displays wonderful, sweet tannin and a big, sweet kiss of truffle, crushed rock, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. Extremely rich, full-bodied, with astonishing power, precision, and delicacy, this is a sumptuous wine that should age well for 50-60 years, but in the case of the one bottle out of three that was not corked, it seemed far more evolved and forward than I suggested in my write-up in 2003"

Antonio Galloni - 97 Points

"The 2000 Ausone was tasted on no less than three occasions during March 2015, once with Pauline and Alain Vauthier. It is a great millennial Saint-Emilion with intense blackberry and cassis fruit laced with cedar and violets. Less opulent than it showed in its youth, it is a perfect marriage of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The palate even at 15 years of age is quite backward and you could argue, rather glossy. Yet there is poise here that lingers in the mouth with a brilliant mineral-driven finish. It is an Ausone that will give five or six decades of drinking pleasure but will certainly repay the more patient. Tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux."