Review of the Estate

Chateau Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, one of only four wines, to be ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. Chateau Ausone is located on the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the Gironde department, close to the town of Saint-Émilion.

Chateau Ausone also produce a second wine named Chapelle d'Ausone.

Placed on the western edge of 11th century village Saint-Émilion, with elevated vineyards facing south on steep terraces in ideal situation, Chateau Ausone takes its name from Decimius Magnus Ausonius (310–395 AD), a statesman and poet from Bordeaux who owned about 100 acres (0.40 km2) of vineyard. It is believed by some that Chateau Ausone is on the foundations of his villa.

The modern estate can be dated to the 18th century, when it was owned by Jean Cantenat. Later, under the ownership of the Lafargue family,Chateau Ausone was inherited by Edouard Dubois who steered the chateau through the difficulties of the late 19th century, and in 1916 added the adjacent Chateau Belair to their estate. The chateaux were run separately, although both age their wine in the Ausone cellars, caves in the limestone cliffs beneath the town of Saint-Émilion. After Dubois died in 1921, his widow Heylette Dubois-Challon and Dubois' children of a previous marriage who married into the Vauthier family took control over Chateau Ausone.

Despite being one of the great names of Bordeaux, Chateau Ausone fell into decline until Pascal Delbeck was appointed winemaker in 1976.

For several years Chateau Ausone was jointly owned by the Dubois-Challon and Vauthier families. Alain Vauthier became managing director of Chateau Ausone, while Heylette Dubois-Challon won the right to live on the chateau until her death in 2003.

Michel Rolland was appointed consultant oenologist in 1995.

Vineyard

Surface area: 17.3 acres

Grape Varieties: 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc 

Average age of vines: 50 - 55 years

Density of plantation: 6,000 - 7,8000 vines per hectare

Average yields: 35 hectoliters per hectare

Average cases produced: 1,800 per year

Plateau of maturity: 5 - 100 years 

Robert Parker Ausone 1995 Review

Score: 93 Points

Ausone’s extraordinary minerality is present in the 1995, yet there are more aromatics, a richer, more multidimensional palate impression, and a fuller texture – all with the terroir brilliantly expressed. The wine boasts a dense ruby/purple color and an emerging but tightly-knit nose of spring flowers, minerals, earth, and black fruits. Rich, with an opulent texture and surprising sexiness for a young vintage of Ausone, the medium-bodied 1995 displays exquisite balance between its acid, tannin, alcohol, and fruit. Although it is not yet seamless, all the elements are present for an extraordinary evolution in the bottle. This wine will age at a glacial pace for 30-40 years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2045. Last tasted, 3/01.

Score: 93