Château Ausone 2021

Château Ausone’s grand vin is defined by the meeting of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and the 2021 blend is 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot. Cabernet Franc gives the wine its powerful mineral profile, while Merlot brings round, pure fruit and a chiselled texture. Together they create a palate that is monumental in scale yet governed by finesse and freshness. The limestone character is central: it brings tension, shape, and persistence, allowing the wine’s power to feel vertical and precise rather than broad or heavy. Floral lift, bright red and dark fruit, fine-grained tannins, and a stony finish form a restrained, layered expression that will reward long ageing. Merlot softens and rounds the centre, while Cabernet Franc holds the line through the finish. Ausone’s rare balance is the point—strength without excess, purity without simplicity, and length without weight. In 2021, that equilibrium is especially compelling, offering a cool, detailed expression whose harmony becomes clearer as the wine opens and whose mineral structure promises decades of evolution.

Serve around 16–18°C and decant generously while young. Its mineral line, fine tannins, and balance of Cabernet Franc with Merlot suit roasted lamb, duck breast, beef tenderloin, or venison prepared with a clean, savoury jus. Earthy accompaniments—porcini, truffle, lentils, beetroot, and roasted root vegetables—echo the wine’s limestone depth without crowding its floral detail. Herb-led dishes with thyme, rosemary, or parsley can draw out Cabernet Franc’s aromatic freshness. For a final course, choose mature Comté, Gruyère, or aged Gouda. Avoid very sweet glazes and fiery chilli. Pour in large Bordeaux glasses and revisit it slowly; the wine’s chiselled structure, freshness, and layered fruit become more eloquent with air and will continue to deepen through careful cellaring.

Ausone occupies only seven hectares of terraces on a rocky Saint-Émilion hillside, exposed east to south-east and sheltered by stone. Some vines grow directly over asteriated limestone; others root into clay-limestone slopes where clay retains moisture through dry periods. Beneath the estate, centuries of quarrying created galleries later converted into cellars, where stable temperature and humidity provide natural conditions for ageing wine. The Vauthier family has cared for the vineyard since 1690, and today Alain and Pauline Vauthier represent the eleventh generation. The vines average around fifty years, with some more than a century old. This intimate scale allows precise attention to every row and cluster, while the fruit itself—not a fixed calendar—determines the rhythm of harvest. Ausone’s wine is inseparable from this union of stone, time, and patient observation.

Store unopened in a cool, dark, temperature-stable cellar, preferably with the bottle on its side. Avoid heat, sunlight, vibration, and sudden temperature changes. Serve at approximately 16–18°C and decant before serving while young. Contains sulphites.