2015 Château Ausone, St Emilion, Bordeaux
- Red
- Dry
- Full Bodied
- Merlot
Not ready
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
- 100/100
- Neal Martin MW
- 98/100
- Jancis Robinson MW
- 18.5/20
- Jancis Robinson MW
- 19/20
- James Suckling
- 100/100
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
- 99/100
- James Suckling
- 99/100
- James Lawther MW
- 96/100
Product: 20158008785
Description
There is a wonderful quality to this grand vin in 2015. Its hilltop location looking out over the appellation always makes it a glorious property to visit and we loved the wine this year. Sweet, succulent and beautifully perfumed with floral aromas and a touch of vanilla spice, there is real focus here.
This great estate has used its renowned terroir to create something which is full of multi-layered fruit complexity. Really focused, rewarding and utterly charming, the mouth-filling creamy palate offers a richness of flavour which lingers long on the finish. This epic wine is one of the very best produced by the Bordelais in 2015.
Blend: 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2015
Maturity Not ready
Grape List Merlot
Body Full Bodied
Producer Château Ausone
Critics reviews
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 100/100
Ausone 2015 is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc and has a medium to deep garnet color. It needs considerably swirling and air to begin to reveal notes of iron ore, Chinese five spice, underbrush, and black truffles, before it opens out to a core of fruitcake, dried roses, licorice, and blueberry preserves, plus a hint of kirsch. Full-bodied, rich and powerful in the mouth, the palate delivers a solid core of muscular fruit with firm yet velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with incredible length and jaw dropping layers. Incredible!Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW , The Wine Independent (November 2022)
Neal Martin MW 98/100
The 2015 Ausone has a detailed, precise bouquet whose intense, graphite-infused black fruit gains intensity with each swirl. This is very sophisticated and compelling. The poised, medium-bodied palate delivers filigreed tannin, perfect acidity and an extraordinarily persistent finish that outclasses almost everything around it. This is outstanding and surely represents one of the wines of the vintage. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Neal Martin, Vinous.com.com (Jul 2019)
Jancis Robinson MW 18.5/20
Dark crimson with some purple. Real class and concentration on the nose - all vineyard, surely. Brisk yet very opulent. Lots of drive and no oak in evidence. Very fine. Very long. Drink 2025-2042 jancis_robinson_mw MW - JancisRobinson.com - Apr 2016
Jancis Robinson MW 19/20
Dark crimson with some purple. Real class and concentration on the nose - all vineyard, surely. Brisk yet very opulent. Lots of drive and no oak in evidence. Very fine. Very long.Drink 2025 - 2050jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2019)
James Suckling 100/100
A mindbinder of a wine with pure fruit and so much fine tannins and mineral character. It’s hyper tight and super polished. The palate starts off slowly and ends with a bang. Amazing endless finish. What an energy. james_suckling - jamessuckling_com - Apr 2016
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 99/100
Composed of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot aged in French oak barrels, 85% new, for 20 months, the 2015 Ausone features a deep garnet-purple color and comes bounding out of the glass with expressive plum preserves, wild blueberries and cherry pie aromas plus fragrant nuances of roses, licorice, Indian spices, bakers chocolate, new leather and cedar chest plus a touch of underbrush. Big, rich, opulent and full-bodied in the mouth, it is laden with bold blue and black fruits, superbly supported by very firm, very finely grained tannins and wonderfully seamless freshness, finishing with long-lingering exotic spice hints.Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 21/02/2018
James Suckling 99/100
Very intense and aromatic Ausone with rose petals, fresh herbs, dark berries and raspberries. Full body and great intensity and brightness. Purity and focus reminiscent of crushed grapes. Such beauty, greatness and elegance to this wine. Goes on for minutes. Needs four or five years to come completely together but so long and beautiful. Try drinking in 2021.james_suckling, jamessuckling_com (Feb 2018)
James Lawther MW 96/100
50% each Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Suave texture but so much power behind. Fine, fragrant nose of pure berry fruit then real density and depth on the palate. Layered fruit and tannins but finely etched. Clean, long and persistent. Drink: 2025-2045 james_lawther MW - decanter.com
About this wine
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
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Château Ausone
Château Ausone is a wine estate in St Emilion on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. It takes its name from the poet Ausonius, who is thought to have owned a villa where the estate stands today – just outside the medieval village of St Emilion. Ausone’s vineyards sit atop St Emilion’s limestone plateau and extend in terraces down the côtes. There are just over six hectares of vines planted today, mostly Cabernet Franc along with Merlot. The team practice organic and biodynamic viticulture though without certification.
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