Ch. Ausone
Grand Cru
Saint Emilion
2010

The producer

Ausone is the smallest of the first growth estates in Bordeaux (in comparison, Ch Lafite Rothschild covers 110 hectares) with only 7.3 hectares of vineyards. Ausone is located on a steep south-east facing slope, in the southern part of the appellation; the soils are rich in limestone at the top and has higher clay and alluvial content further down.

Named after the Roman poet Ausonius, wine has been produced at Ch Ausone for at least four centuries. In the 17^th century, the Dubois-Challon-Vauthier family acquired the estate, from whom today’s owner, Alain Vauthier with daughter Pauline are direct descendants. 

The wine is usually a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot. The small size of the vineyard and thus annual production (today, maybe 1,500 cases are produced in a great year) means that Ausone is often hard to find, especially since its seductive aromas and layers of rich and pure fruit makes it a wine in very high demand, and one that retains an exceptional level of elegance and finesse.

Having had the status of as 1er Grand Cru Classe A for many years, Ausone made the announcement in 2021 that they would no longer be participating in subsequent classifications.

The wine

The Ausone blend varies with vintage conditions but is usually comprised of a relatively high proportion of Cabernet Franc, up to 60%, complemented with Merlot. Fermentation takes place in traditional oak vats and is followed by malolactic and later ageing for up to 24 months in 100% new French oak. The small size (7 hectares) of the vineyard and thus annual production (today, maybe 1,500 cases are produced in a great year) means that Ausone is often hard to find, especially since its seductive aromas and layers of rich and pure fruit, along with a delicately chiselled mineral texture, makes it a wine in very high demand, and one that retains an exceptional level of elegance and finesse. This is one of the most consistent wines of the entire region.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.