1996 Ausone Bordeaux Blend
Reviews of 1996 Ausone Bordeaux Blend
93 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
April 1999
...Reluctant aromas of blueberries, blackberries, minerals, flowers, truffles, and subtle new oak eventually emerge. Elegant on the attack, with sweet ripeness, and a delicate, concentrated richness, the hallmark of this wine is subtlety rather than flamboyance...stylish, and presently understated, with tremendous aging potential...
93 points, Stephen Tanzer
May 1999
...Exotic aromas of black cherry, cassis, minerals, smoke, clove and mint. Thick with extract, but with Ausone classic restrained sweetness and mineral backbone. Sound acidity gives the flavors superb clarity and grip...
90 points, Wine Spectator
January 1999
Impressive dark color, with blackberry and dark-chocolate aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, with firm yet silky tannins and a chocolate, toasted-oak aftertaste. Another ace from Ausone...
About 1996 Ausone Bordeaux Blend
About the Winery Ausone
"Ausone is in the middle of the Saint Emilion appellation. It is on a hill directly south of the picturesque town of Saint Emilion.Chateau Ausone produces a second wine called Chapelle d'Ausone.
Classification: Grand Cru Classé A (The highest rating for a Saint Emilion.) Chateau Ausone is the best of the best with regard to Saint Emilion. It is the Petrus of it's appellation.Chateau Ausone has vineyards of 7.3 hectares (just under 18 acres) with an average age of the vines of 50 years. The planting of the vineyards is 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc. The vines are planted with a density of 6,000 plants per hectare. The vineyards are on rather steep slopes facing to the South. The slopes give perfect drainage but also bring some problems with erosion of the soil. The Southern exposure is ideal for ripening of the grapes. The soil and sub-soil of Chateau Ausone's vineyards are limestone. The soil characteristics of Ausone's vineyards are consistent through the entire property. The entire production is harvested by hand. There are 2,000 cases of Chateau Ausone produced each year, on average. The fermentation takes from 21 to 35 days. The aging is always in 100% new barrels each year. The wines are barrel aged for at least 18 months (and sometimes nearly 2 years depending on the vintage) before bottling. During the barrel aging period, the wine is moved from barrel to barrel (racked) to remove sediment every 3 months. The wines are usually fine (clarified) with egg whites but left unfiltered before bottling. The Chateau has extensive caves in the limestone under the property. With the influence of Michel Rolland beginning in 1995, the wines have started showing a great deal more fruit and extract in thier youth... Chateau Ausone is a very old property with medieval historical significance. In it's more recent history, the wines from the chateau suffered from lower quality and a lessened reputation in the middle of the 20th century. Ausone began to return to it's historical positon of greatness with the hiring of Pascal Delbeck in the 1970s. Delbeck was in charge of Ausone beginning with the 1976 vintage. As of 1995, he no longer played a role in the winemaking but remained in charge of the vineyards. The property had been owned for generations by a partnership of the Dubois-Challon family and the Vauthier family. In the mid 1990s, the Vauthier family gained sole ownership of Chateau Ausone. Alain Vauthier controls all aspects of the winemaking. He b
About the Wine
"The wines of Chateau Ausone are very powerful for a Saint Emilion. They generally require cellarning for at least 10 years to reach maturity and will often improve until 20 years from the year of the harvest. In thier youth, these wines can be very tannic. As they age, the flavors of currant, raspberry and black cherry begin to come forward along with hints of spice. Some of the library wines that are nearly a century old still possess charm and a surprising youthfulness."
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