Château Ausone 2006

One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier has at his beloved Ausone? Boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, precise bouquet of minerals, flowers, blueberry liqueur, and black currants, this wine possesses fabulous fruit and great intensity, but what makes it so special is its precision, focus, and almost ethereal lightness despite substantial flavor intensity and depth. It is a ballerina with density and power. The abundant noticeable tannin is sweet and, not surprisingly, very finely grained. It should be cellared for a decade, and consumed over the following half century.

Cedar, new wood and crushed blackberry and raspberry aromas follow through to a palate of vanilla, berry and blackberry character. Balanced and modern, with lots of fruit. Lively, with bright acidity. Best after 2014.

Tannins are still firmly in control and the 55% Cabernet Franc is lean and fresh, but with a silky sense of possibility and a smoky quality to the fruit. This is grilled to perfection, adding depth and complexity while highlighting the purity of dark fruit. Never a hint of excess at Ausone, and the enforced restraint of 2006 suits it perfectly. One to cellar with confidence.

Clearly a contender for wine of the vintage. In a year of masculine styled wine, this is soft, refined and elegant. The ripe tannins are buried under a wealth of ripe fruit, stone, floral and earthy charms. Not close to mature, but offering a beautiful, velvet, focused tasting experience today. If I owned a bottle, I would wait at least 10-15 or 20 years. But if you own a case and you're curious.... why not?

Dark garnet with purple and violet highlights. A multilayered bouquet with many facets: first the berry tones—mulberries, wild cherries, raspberries—then coconut, licorice, rosewood notes, light coffee; the whole is freshly wrapped in playful cassis blossoms, violets, and lemon balm tones—complex, seductive, nearly perfect. On the palate, showing plenty of muscle, a great acidity supporting the fruit, concentrated yet with a pleasing body; again lots of cherries and wild cherries, fitting roasted notes; tannins gradually coming to the fore, providing the necessary aging potential; still unfinished yet brilliant, belonging to the great, perhaps slightly cool‑toned vintages of Ausone. Increasingly accompanied by a mythical aura like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from Burgundy.

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot. 33 hl/ha. 18,500 bottles. Dark garnet with purple and violet highlights. Multi-layered bouquet with many facets: first the berry tones—mulberries, wild cherries, raspberries—then coconut, licorice, rosewood notes, light coffee, all freshly wrapped in playful cassis blossoms, violets, and lemon balm tones; complex, seductive, nearly perfect. On the palate, very muscular, with a great acidity that supports the fruit; concentrated yet pleasantly built, again lots of cherries and wild cherries, appropriate roasted tones; gradually the tannins take hold, giving the wine the necessary insurance for aging—still unfinished yet brilliant. Belongs to the great vintages of Ausone, even if radiating a slightly cool character. This will contribute to Ausone being increasingly accompanied by a myth that might approach a Domaine de la Romanée Conti from Bordeaux. So anyone wishing to buy should set aside a large budget! Just in the days when its price was announced, I tasted it again at the estate with Alain Vauthier. Here the gap between quality and price clearly widens. Ausone 2006 is a very good wine, albeit somewhat reserved and restrained. But that is unfortunately far from enough to justify its exorbitant price even remotely. (18/20). 12: magnum. Very dark purple. Idiosyncratic bouquet; the wine seems to be in a difficult evolutionary phase: tire notes, semi-dried plums, some mocha, also discreet lactic traces; somehow this nose (for the moment) is hard to read; one might think more of the Maremma than of Saint-Emilion. On the palate, soft and compote-like, rather low acidity, the tannins are juicy. I decanted it a few times and it became more accessible, but unfortunately quite untypical for Ausone. For the moment only: 17/20. Future:

Silky, dense, elegant, closed, fresh bouquet, blueberries, strawberries, tobacco, nougat. Balanced, silky, fresh palate with tightly woven structure, fine aromatics, good tannins, multifaceted aromatics, long, delicate finish. Can improve further. 18/20 2019 - 2045

Tasted during the Bordeaux Mentor Week at a tasting hosted by the Fondation Terroirs et Paysages Culturels (Ausone is a founding member of this group). The entire series of wine was exceptional, but this still managed to stand out head and shoulders above the rest. Just a total lesson in what depths and nuances can be achieved in an almost-20-year-old wine that has stayed true to its limestone terroir. It opens with creamy raspberry and cassis fruit, laced with white truffles, incense and citrus, so elegant and poised, then performs a push and pull of acidity and tannins as it stretches out across the palate, narrowing to a saline scrape of pumice stone and oyster shell. A wonderful moment to begin drinking, but it’s going nowhere soon. 100% new oak, Alain Vauthier owner.

All silk and caress, airy and finely contoured, with intense fruit, brilliantly luminous, and a long, racy finish.

Logo on the cork: MAS Dark, intense color, slightly evolved. The nose is somewhat discreet, with ripe fruit. A touch of strawberry and leather. Delicate on entry, precise through the mid-palate, with a present, rather melting body and plenty of flavor, the wine unfolds both delicate and firm, leading to a finish with fine tannins, though with a slightly austere character. The oak lends a hint of bitterness. On that basis, it could be held back a little longer.

Strength and elegance go together in this wine. It has a pure line of clear berry fruits that float above the tannic core. It is not so much rich as dense, the tannins a vivid counterpoint to the fruit. The wine finishes with fine, elegant sweetness, but it is the purity of line that stays in the memory. Age for 10 years at least.