2009 Château Ausone, St Emilion, Bordeaux

A 55/45 blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot; cropped at 27 hectoliters per hectare; pH 3.56; 14.5% alcohol; 100% new oak.Bright, saturated ruby-red. Very cabernet franc- and limestone-driven on the nose, offering enticing scents of red berries, cocoa, spicy minerals and violet. Impressively intense flavours of red and dark berries are complicated by bitter chocolate and minerals. This serious, weighty blockbuster is given great verve by strong, mouthwatering acidity. Substantial but even tannins saturate the palate, and a captivating note of cedar emerges with air. This wine is going to require a lot of time in the cellar but is starting its life with outstanding balance and class.Ian D'Agata, Vinous.com.com (May 2010)

Bright ruby-red. Serious medicinal reserve to the aromas of iron, violet and coconutty oak. A real mineral bath on the palate, with outstanding concentration and energy to the flavours of dark berries and flowers. Hiding more than it's showing today and is destined for three or four decades of improvement in bottle. The remarkably palate-staining finish features an outstanding tannic spine and grip and a great lift for such a big wine. A knockout, and likely to be a Bordeaux monument.Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com.com (July 2012)

Incredible nose of currants and blueberries. Flowers too. Licorice. Such purity on the nose of Cabernet Franc. Full body, incredible structure, with fabulous tannins and a long, long finish. Built out of stone. The prefect Ausone.Try after 2022james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (March 2012)

The 2009 Ausone has a sumptuous bouquet with pure blackberry, raspberry, rose petal and orange blossom aromas. The wine is beautifully defined blossoms with aeration. It becomes very liquorice and menthol-like after 10 minutes’ aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. It is not a powerful 2009 and it feels sleek and quite tensile. Pure red fruit linger in the mouth with a very deft, almost understated finish. So elegant, so Ausone. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.Drink 2021 - 2050Neil Martin, Vinous.com.com (March 2019)

Rose perfume. Very different from the rest; Tertre perhaps? Lots of fun. Zesty and lifted. Dry finish. Very solid. jancis_robinson_mw MW - JancisRobinson.com - January 2013 Full and gamey and broad and expressive. Very distinctive wine. Still a bit tough and modern and super-focused. Very drying on the end. Quite demanding for now. Drying on the finish. Really quite painful – as though it had been concentrated, or certainly as though the grapes suffered quite a bit of drought stress. Lots of minerality on the finish. Very ambitious. Shades of Pavie 2003? I'm sure many palates will really, really appreciate this wine, and I look forward very much to following its progression as I have the utmost respect for Alain and now Pauline Vauthier interviewed here about the effect of the hail damage her family's vineyards suffered in May. I see the fiche technique specifies a yield of 27hl/ha and 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot but no picking date and I seem to have forgotten to ask. jancis_robinson_mw MW - JancisRobinson.com - April 2010

Amazingly focused wine. Long, persistent with extremely fine, filigree tannins. Beautiful texture. Incredible density of fruit behind. Freshness on the palate (55% Cabernet Franc). Absolute harmony. Rivals the outstanding 2005.

Such a dreamy, perfumed aroma to this wine. Full-bodied, but wonderfully polished and integrated. It touches every millimeter of your palate and the texture makes you want to cry. It touches your soul. Goes on for minutes. Another perfect red? james_suckling - Wine Spectator - Apr 2010

A masterpiece in the making, proprietor Alain Vauthier’s 2009 Ausone boasts a dense purple color along with notes of powdered chalk, crushed rocks and wild blue, red and black fruits. Extravagantly rich with great minerality, precision and freshness as well as a voluptuous texture (unusual for a baby Ausone), this is an extraordinary wine. Sadly, there are fewer than 1,200 cases... for the world. robert_parker - Wine Advocate - February 2012

Tasted blind. Medium-concentration crimson. Sweet and almost coconut oaky nose. Thick, sweet and attention-grabbing but it does lack a bit of freshness. More to be marvelled at than to refresh. Lots of alcohol.Drink 2017 - 2035jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com (March 2019)