Description
Named after the 4th-century Roman poet, Decimus Magnus Ausonius, Chateau Ausone sits on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, in the prestigious Saint-Emilion appellation. Classified as one of the two original Premier Grand Cru Classé A estates (alongside Chateau Cheval Blanc), Ausone wines have been viewed as one of the region’s top producers for decades, with the arrival of Alan Vauthier in 1976 marking a particularly strong period. Leaning on many generations of winemaking wisdom passed down since the 17th century, Libourne-native Vauthier understood the local terroir and how to embrace its best expression.
Critical Acclaim
95 points John Gilman, View From the Cellar
Château Ausone The Most Magical Terroir in St. Émilion For many, many years, the 1976 Ausone has always been ranked at the very pinnacle of the vintage, alongside the superb ’76 Lafite-Rothschild. I have been fortunate to drink this wine on several occasions over the years and the most recent bottle, tasted at our vertical, continued to drink at its apogee and truly transcend the overall quality of the vintage. The bouquet is deep, tertiary and very elegant, offering up a complex combination of black cherries, red plums, chocolate, limestone minerality, gamebird, charred wood, lovely Ausone nuttiness and the first vestiges of autumnal soil elements. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, complex and à point, with lovely focus and balance, fine mid-palate depth, melted tannins, good acids and a long, elegant and gently autumnal finish. This is a classic vintage of Ausone that is now at its peak, though of course, still with plenty of life ahead of it. Given the contrasting opinions of Messieurs Parker and Peppercorn about whether the 1975 or 1976 are superior, I am now ready for a bottle of the 1975, which I have never tried! Ausone is a great ’76. (Jan/Feb 2019, Issue #79,)
93 points Vinous
The 1976 Ausone has always been held up as one of the few successes of the decade for the estate. Bottles are now not easy to find. I remember the one example opened at The Arches possessing engaging Moroccan spice and boot polish on the nose, quite ripe with gamey Damon fruit. The palate is balanced and demonstrates much more ripeness than other vintages from the 1970s with firm tannic structure, piquant red fruit tinged with brown sugar towards the sustained finish. I suspect that in 2018 bottles will be more variable but those of sound provenance will continue to offer pleasure. (NM, 03/2018)
92 points Wine Advocate
Considerable amber at the edge is evident in this dark garnet-colored wine. With a big nose of sweet maple syrup intermixed with foresty notes, plum, fig, and currants, it is sweeter and riper than its more famous sibling, the 1975. In the mouth, the wine shows some hard edges and angularity, which is so typical of Ausone, but there is a lot of character and a concentrated, medium-bodied mid-palate. The finish is paradoxically both sweet and sour, with ripeness and glycerin, but at the same time, high tannin. (RP, 01/2003)
[Note: Slightly soiled label.]
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