2000 Château Ausone

Community Tasting Notes (46) Avg Score: 96.6 points

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  10/21/2023 - isbjoern wrote: 98 Points

  A great vintage for Ausone. Fruit is slowly retreating, there is more flavors of coffee, mocha, tobacco leaf, iodine, a whiff of old-school Bordeaux barnyard notes, and a mineral and salty core. This still as ample tannins that provide structure and that will resolve further over the next decade. A very long-lived and impressive wine for sure. My favorite wine of the evening just ahead of a perfectly balanced bottle of Cheval Blanc 2015 - 98 points

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  7/7/2023 - WineDilletante Likes this wine: 99 Points

  First bottle from a 6-pack OWC acquired through HDH. I've had enough experience with Ausone now to be able to tell this bottle was genuine unlike a previous bottle (from a different source) that was clearly a counterfeit. I think people need to be extra careful when sourcing the 2000 Ausone, I have a feeling a lot of the low scores are due to people being sold fake wine.
  
  I have tasted about 10 pre-2000 vintages of Ausone, going back to 1964, and I can say this is the best Ausone I've had. Surprisingly, it was approachable on the palate after a 90min decant, with the bouquet blossoming after about 2 hours. The way I would describe this wine is that it really strives to preserve the reticence and haughtiness of the old Ausone we all love, while expanding the power and lushness of the palate. It is a more modern wine, don't get me wrong, but progress is not always a bad thing. The Cabernet Franc is particularly prominent in this vintage, I thought, bringing the flavor profile closer to Cheval Blanc than usual. It is unmistakably Ausone though, the regalness is still there.
  
  The one small grievance I had is that the wine is maybe a touch over-extracted. It is barely noticeable but it is as if the winemaker was trying too hard. Hence the 99 points. But with time, I may be proven wrong. As we know, with Ausone, patience is paramount.

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  1/14/2023 - winemanintheden Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Tasting at Max Bordeaux. Nose is completely different from the other 3 (16 Beychevelle, 02 Langoa Barton, 05 Pichon Lalande). The 2000 Ausone is complete terroir. So compelling and interesting. Tea leaves, toasted oak and light band aid aromas. Easily the most interesting nose of the group and overwhelmingly distinct. I can’t describe how I love this nose because it doesn’t smell like the others or anything I can recall from past Premier Grand Cru. It simply is unique with its oak integrated. The fruits are all in the background and what’s left is all layers from its terroir. Still a touch tannic.
  
  The palette is well integrated. Complex. With some slight tannins still present. Again lots of terroir from the merlot plus 22 years. This one has plenty of time left as the structure is solid and all in balance. Love how this one feels as it’s the first Premier Grand Cru I’ve been able to enjoy with significant age. Final thoughts absolutely love the nose. It’s so complex and interesting. Asked the wine consultant here at Max Bordeaux and it sells at current market for 2000€. 96-97.

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  10/19/2022 - Mag357 Does not like this wine:

  Natebm-This bottle was a fake Ausone. St Emilion from the plains - alluvial soils- but not Ausone for sure. Then after the disappointment, the retailer's manager reply:
  "we strive to achieve the best quality and our quality control process is unmatched in the undustry-however our terms do not guarantee..."
  That's the risk when buying such wine not on release.

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  8/23/2022 - Andice wrote: 95 Points

  Aristocratic. Broad shouldered and still bundled up fruit and dark-coffee tannins to resolve after 2 decades, easily another 5 to 10 years before full maturity. The underlying fruit is cashmere and obvious intensity/ length for its pedigree, but bitter tannins still stick out at the end. 95pts for now with ample upside with age. Rarity is its calling card.

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