1997 Ausone Bordeaux Blend
Reviews of 1997 Ausone Bordeaux Blend
91 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
April 2000
A fine wine, this dark purple-colored effort reveals black raspberry, blackberry, mineral, and floral aromas in its complex, multidimensional bouquet. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied, with sweet, ripe fruit, firm tannin, good acidity, and a long, well-endowed, moderately tannic finish. Moreover, it will be a long-lived wine. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.
91-92 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
April 1999
An impressively-extracted wine, the 1997 was revealing copious black currant fruit in addition to floral and toasty smells. The color is a saturated dark ruby/purple, and the wine is ripe with low acidity as well as high tannin. Very rich for the vintage, with a pronounced sweet mid-palate, it appears to have considerable promise. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025.
91-94 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
April 1998
I tasted this wine when I was in Bordeaux last November and was extremely impressed at that time. Now that it has had another four months of evolution, it is clearly one of the vintage's superstars. The color is a healthy dark purple, and the wine offers up celestial aromas of black fruits, licorice, minerals, and roasted Cote Rotie-like nuances. The wine's fascinating aromatics are matched by its exhilarating flavors. While not a powerhouse, and without the intensity, extraction, and richness of the 1996 and 1995, the 1997 is surreal in its display of complex aromas matched with intense but not heavy flavors. This medium-bodied wine reveals superb ripeness and glorious balance. It is a textbook example of how a wine can have remarkable flavor intensity and length, without being tiring to drink. This Ausone is forward, particularly for a wine from this estate, yet it is capable of lasting for more than two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020.
90 points, Wine Spectator
January 2000
Pure fruit on the nose, with violet, berry and raspberry aromas. Medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, polished finish. Super well done for the vintage. Drink now through 2005. (JS)
About 1997 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."
Stock Level & Ship Times
This is a pre-arrival item. You will be contacted once this product has arrived at our warehouse to arrange delivery.
Need it faster? Call us now at (888) 859-4637 for special arrangements.
Shipping Information
For a shipping quote, add this product to your shopping cart. From there you will be able to enter a zipcode and get a detailed quote. For full details on our shipping policies, click here.
Wine Lovers Who Bought This Wine Also Bought...
|
