Wine Region: Bordeaux - France
Grape: 60% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet sauvignon.
Tasting notes: "One can’t say enough about the amazing job that Alain Vauthier and his daughter have done at this historic property on the decomposed limestone slopes of St.-Emilion. About half of their production goes into the second wine, Chapelle D’Ausone, which gives you an indication of the compulsive perfectionist attitude of the Vauthiers. The 2012 Chapelle D’Ausone has a dense ruby/purple color and is rich, broad and expansive, with notes of plum, blueberry and black raspberry fruit, powdered chalk and flowers. The wine is medium to full-bodied, beautifully pure and long and rich. This is better than many of the vintages of Ausone in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, which says a lot about what Vauthier has achieved. Drink it over the next 20-25 years." Robert M. Parker, Jr, The Wine Advocate
Expert Rating: Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93/100.
About the winery: The estate was founded by two families, the Chatonnets and the Cantenants. In more recent times, for two centuries, Chateau Ausone was the property of the Vauthier and the Dubois-Challon families. Today it belongs to Alain Vauthier and his sister Catherine, who bought their aunt Hélyette Dubois-Challon’s share in 1997. Alain Vauthier runs the estate and makes the wine. Since 2005 his daughter Pauline, a qualified oenologist, has been working with him.
The site is exceptional: divided between the limestone plateau and Saint-Emilion’s calcareous clay slope, facing east-south-east and sheltered on its north and west sides, Ausone was one of very few Saint-Emilions to come unscathed through the terrible frosts of February 1956. The 7 hectares of vineyard, lying in a single plot around the chateau, are planted with 55% of Cabernet Franc and 45% of Merlot. The vines are very old, with an average age of 50 years. Their low yield (33 hectolitres per hectare) in part explains the wine’s concentration and its potential for improving over time.
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