Description

Datant du XIVe siècle, le Château Ausone est l'un des vignobles les plus légendaires de Saint-Émilion. La famille Vauthier, propriétaire depuis 1690, continue de préserver l'identité d'un domaine berceau d'un grand vin qui se distingue par une élégance subtile. Le Cabernet franc domine son coupage, complété par du Merlot, qui lui confère puissance et minéralité.

Fiche technique

Le domaine
Château Ausone
Type de vin
Rouge
Millésime
2018
Alcool
14.5% vol.
Cépage
60% Cabernet franc, 40% Merlot
Origine
Saint-Emilion

Dégustation

Température de service
16 °C.
Garde
De 2028 à 2068 environ, s'il est conservé dans des conditions optimales.

Vignoble et élaboration

Description
Le vignoble s'étend sur de petites terrasses entourées de pierres afin de les protéger du vent. Exposition est-sud-est idéale. Des haies, des arbres fruitiers et des plantes aromatiques sont également cultivés en association avec les vignes. En conversion vers l'agriculture biologique.
Size
7,25 hectares
Année de plantation
Les cépages ont en moyenne 52 ans
Sol
Calcaire argileux contenant des astéries.
Rendement
38 hectolitres par hectare.
Vendanges
Vendange manuelle dans de petites caisses
Vinification
Par lots, dans de petites cuves en bois. Extraction douce contrôlée par un système à vis sans fin et retour par gravité.
Elevage
Élevage de 20 mois en fûts neufs de chêne français.

L'avis des experts

The Wine Advocate :

The 2018 Ausone is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, rather predictably, the nose is almost completely shut-down on first sniff, taking considerable aeration to begin to reveal its jaw-dropping perfume of ripe black cherries, wild blueberries and plum preserves, leading to suggestions of candied violets, molten chocolate, licorice and crushed rocks with subtle cedar and pencil lead hints. The medium to full-bodied palate (14.5% alcohol) is so tightly wound and nuanced at this stage, it requires a lot of focus unravel all that is going on here. In short: a lot. The ripe, rich, black and blue fruit layers eventually give way to the beautifully cerebral earthy/minerally subtext, carried by fantastically well-knit tension, delivering an incredibly long, foundation-shaking finish. If the earth doesn't move when you drink this, you're probably not doing it right. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Decanter:

This is deep and ripped, coming out you like a powerhouse, then it stops, tiptoes away, then rises up to slowly stretch out through the palate, displaying incredible tension and length. Graphite, flint, earth, crushed stone, blackberry, cassis and a juicy salinity from the scrape of limestone. Pretty clear this is going to power through the next 30-40 years effortlessly. And it just keeps going. Clearly survived the drought of the summer without so much as breaking a sweat. 3.6pH. Average age of the vines is 52 years old. A yield of 38hl/ha. (Jane Anson)

James Suckling:

Aromas of blackberry, black cherry, licorice, iodine and dried shitake mushroom. Opens and changes to violets and lavender. Full-bodied and tight with creamy and refined tannins that run the length of the wine and takes you down into the depth of the wine. Needs years to open yet it’s already so gorgeous to taste. Try after 2027.

Wine Enthusiast:

The perfumes of this wine just pour from the glass. They measure up to the promise of the black tannins and dark, dense fruits, the monumental structure and juicy black-plum flavors. The whole ethos of this wine is towards long-term aging to great power and intensity for the future. Drink from 2028. (Roger Voss)