Ausone 2021

St Emilion, Premier Grand Cru Classé A

Units	Size	Case size	GBP Price:	Quantities	Buy

Tasting Notes
The last year that Ausone will be recorded as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A, and it delivers fragrant tomato leaf and peony aromatics, studded with fennel and white pepper, cold ash, saffran, oyster shell, pomegranate and brambled loganberry frruit. Medium bodied plum colour, plenty of depth through the mid palate. This is right up there with the very best of 2021, and manages to convey the signature of the limestone soils at Ausone, with their grip and understated sense of playfulness. Clear winemaking skill on display, not trying to outrun the vintage, while still bearing the fingerprints of a cooler year. Harvest September 30 to October 6, 90% new oak (down from the usual 100%), 2nd year conversion to organic, Philippe Baillarguet cellar master. Average vine age 55 years. A tough year for this stable of wines - with no release of Simard, Haut Simard, Fonbel nor Moulin St Georges (final decision has been taken over ageing, although a few bottles will be kept at the estate for library purposes). 23hl/h yield. Score: 95 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2044 26 March 2024
The 2021 Ausone is a gorgeous wine, but it is also quite reticent and in need of time to come around. The operative word here is balance, as all the elements are so well put together. Soft, gentle contours wrap around a core of succulent red/purplish fruit, blood orange, spice, lavender, rose petal and dried herbs. The 2021 is compelling. Score: 95 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2036-2061 27 February 2024
The 2021 Ausone has quite an intense bouquet, with subtle floral scents of iris and violet that percolate through the black fruit. The oak here is very well integrated, and there is just a faint touch of licorice and clove. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very fresh and tensile, like the Chapelle d'Ausone, exhibiting a captivating citrus/blood orange sorbet note toward the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a very composed Ausone that will give 20-30 years of drinking pleasure…if you allow it. Incidentally, this is 12.8% alcohol, less than in recent vintages. Score: 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2050 22 February 2024
Deep crimson hue. Fragrant and floral on both nose and palate. More aromatic than usual at this stage. Density and freshness through the mid palate, the fruit juicy, the tannins plentiful but very fine. Plenty of elegance and charm but there is power as well. (JL) Score: 17+ Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2030-2048 11 May 2022
Full-bodied, but so elegant and fresh, with a silky, elegant tannin texture. Very deep and expansive. Lots going on already with plenty of perfume. Blueberries, cloves, lavender and some wild-berry notes. Dark cocoa, too. Some espresso character at the end. Wonderful interplay of spices and fruit. Long. It keeps going. Score: 96 - 97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 01 May 2022
A blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, the 2021 Ausone is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild blueberries and raspberries mingled with rose petals, violets, exotic spices, vine smoke and blood orange, it's full-bodied, seamless and sensual, with a satiny attack that segues into a deep, layered mid-palate of breathtaking precision and intensity without weight. Built around bright acids and ultra-refined tannins and concluding with a resonant, perfumed finish, this profound young Ausone represents the essence of this great limestone terroir. I am not in the habit of drinking six-month-old Bordeaux cask samples, but this is one wine that would have sorely tempted me to make an exception to that rule if my appointment at the estate hadn't been one of the first of the day! Score: 97 - 100 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 29 April 2022

Tasting Notes

The last year that Ausone will be recorded as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A, and it delivers fragrant tomato leaf and peony aromatics, studded with fennel and white pepper, cold ash, saffran, oyster shell, pomegranate and brambled loganberry frruit. Medium bodied plum colour, plenty of depth through the mid palate. This is right up there with the very best of 2021, and manages to convey the signature of the limestone soils at Ausone, with their grip and understated sense of playfulness. Clear winemaking skill on display, not trying to outrun the vintage, while still bearing the fingerprints of a cooler year. Harvest September 30 to October 6, 90% new oak (down from the usual 100%), 2nd year conversion to organic, Philippe Baillarguet cellar master. Average vine age 55 years. A tough year for this stable of wines - with no release of Simard, Haut Simard, Fonbel nor Moulin St Georges (final decision has been taken over ageing, although a few bottles will be kept at the estate for library purposes). 23hl/h yield.

Score: 95

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2044 26 March 2024

The 2021 Ausone is a gorgeous wine, but it is also quite reticent and in need of time to come around. The operative word here is balance, as all the elements are so well put together. Soft, gentle contours wrap around a core of succulent red/purplish fruit, blood orange, spice, lavender, rose petal and dried herbs. The 2021 is compelling.

Score: 95

Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2036-2061 27 February 2024

The 2021 Ausone has quite an intense bouquet, with subtle floral scents of iris and violet that percolate through the black fruit. The oak here is very well integrated, and there is just a faint touch of licorice and clove. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very fresh and tensile, like the Chapelle d'Ausone, exhibiting a captivating citrus/blood orange sorbet note toward the finish that lingers in the mouth. This is a very composed Ausone that will give 20-30 years of drinking pleasure…if you allow it. Incidentally, this is 12.8% alcohol, less than in recent vintages.

Score: 94

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2050 22 February 2024

Deep crimson hue. Fragrant and floral on both nose and palate. More aromatic than usual at this stage. Density and freshness through the mid palate, the fruit juicy, the tannins plentiful but very fine. Plenty of elegance and charm but there is power as well. (JL)

Score: 17+

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2030-2048 11 May 2022

Full-bodied, but so elegant and fresh, with a silky, elegant tannin texture. Very deep and expansive. Lots going on already with plenty of perfume. Blueberries, cloves, lavender and some wild-berry notes. Dark cocoa, too. Some espresso character at the end. Wonderful interplay of spices and fruit. Long. It keeps going.

Score: 96 - 97

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 01 May 2022

A blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, the 2021 Ausone is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild blueberries and raspberries mingled with rose petals, violets, exotic spices, vine smoke and blood orange, it's full-bodied, seamless and sensual, with a satiny attack that segues into a deep, layered mid-palate of breathtaking precision and intensity without weight. Built around bright acids and ultra-refined tannins and concluding with a resonant, perfumed finish, this profound young Ausone represents the essence of this great limestone terroir. I am not in the habit of drinking six-month-old Bordeaux cask samples, but this is one wine that would have sorely tempted me to make an exception to that rule if my appointment at the estate hadn't been one of the first of the day!

Score: 97 - 100

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 29 April 2022

Your Lists & Checkout

New Arrivals

Advanced Search

wine regions

quick links

Ausone 2021

St Emilion, Premier Grand Cru Classé A

search wines

Full wine List

RSS feeds

wine regions

join our mailing list