The captivates your focus with its showy display of flowers, crushed rocks, black, red and blue fruit, espresso and thyme. It takes a bit of coaxing and patience, but there is an incredible level of depth, purity, refinement, and vibrancy at play here on the palate as the wine gently coats your palate with its layers of salt-infused, black and dark red fruits. The deep seamless finish crosses the 60 second mark and keeps on going as it continues showing off its essence of minerals of fresh berries. This could be the longest lived wine of the vintage. Drink from 2030-2075. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2020%20Ausone

A stunning wine, that seduces with a creamy luscious kick of spiced raspberry and blueberry fruit on the first moments, then the more austere touch of limestone, with fingers of orange peel, lemongrass, steel and slate add a stricter character. This is just a masterclass in clever winemaking, in knowing exactly when to step back and let the terroir take over. The depths on offer here are both hidden and yet fully apparent, and as it gathers steam through the palate, gunsmoke and mocha appear, along with the tell-tale oyster shell salinity on the finish. 100% new oak, Pauline Vauthier winemaker with cellar master Philippe Baillarguet. First year of official conversion to organic farming.

Deep and layered with rich, ripe blackcurrant, cherry and plum fruit that expands slowly while the texture – sleek, straight and direct – does the talking. Clean with a powdery mineral grip of liquorice and graphite that takes hold and doesn't let go. Structured and focused, no doubt muscular in its power yet so finely knit together. Laser-sharp, serious at the moment, this will take a while before it really starts to shine. It's not out to charm right now but it certainly captivates.

(98+ points) A blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot (the last time it was this blend was in 2010), the 2020 Château Ausone spent 20 months in new French oak, which has already been just about completely absorbed by this beauty. In comparison to the Chapelle d'Ausone, the Grand Vin is tighter and straighter, with an incredible yet primordial bouquet of red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with notions of iron, smoked tobacco, and graphite, with a liqueur of rocks-like sense of minerality. Dense purple-hued, full-bodied, backward, incredibly concentrated, and powerful, it has building tannins, a dense, stacked mid-palate, and enough structure and baby fat to warrant a solid decade of bottle age. This is a powerful Ausone built for the long haul, and it will unquestionably rank with the greats from the Vauthier family.

The 2020 Ausone has a very crisp and precise bouquet, with a mixture of red and black fruit, crushed stone, black truffle and cedar that gains intensity in the glass. Medium in body, the palate is composed and refined with fine tannins. A taut yet brilliantly defined, pixelated finish goes on and on and on. This is one of the Vauthiers' finest wines in recent years. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. -- Neal Martin

(95+ points) A blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the 2020 Ausone wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of incense, spices and raw cocoa framed by a creamy patina of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's pure and concentrated, with a sweet core of fruit, generously extracted tannins and a vanillin-inflected finish. Less seamless and sensual than the lovely 2019, it will require some patience to come together, but there is no mistaking the quality of the terroir here. - William Kelley