Ausone 2000

Château Ausone is a highly regarded wine estate in the Saint-Émilion region of northeastern Bordeaux. It is one of the prestigious few Saint-Émilion producers with Premier Grand Cru Classé A status – and one of only two estates (the other being Château Cheval Blanc) to hold this status since the inception of the classification in 1955. The wider estate is relatively small compared to other top rated Bordeaux châteaux, and its seven-hectare (17-acre) vineyard is planted almost entirely to Cabernet Franc and Merlot. A small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon appears in its second wine, Chapelle d'Ausone,

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.”