Tasting Notes
Vinous 92+
Full red-ruby color. Inky black cherry, blueberry, licorice and bitter chocolate on the nose, plus a whiff of roasted meat that quickly dissipated. Dense and chewy on the palate, with very good intensity to its dark fruit, leather and chocolate flavors and a pronounced rocky quality. Showed increasing vibrancy with aeration but there’s no easy sweetness to this soil-driven wine. Struck me as a bit energetically extracted. Finishes broad and long, with substantial dusty tannins. I’d forget about this for at least a few years.
Robert Parker 92
Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 2007 Bordeaux tasting. The 2007 Ausone has a high-toned bouquet, a little flashy in style compared to its peers with touches of salted licorice coming through with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and fine acidity. This is more cohesive and mild-mannered than the feisty aromatics, with good depth and a caressing, quite plush finish. It is a fine Saint Emilion, though it does not quite possess the breeding of the Cheval Blanc 2007 that was tasted alongside. Tasted March 2015.
Anticipated maturity: 2015-2028
JancisRobinson.com 17++
55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot. Heady. Rich and heady. A bit angular, not exaggerated but in this damp vintage not as mellifluous as Cheval’s gravel-based wine. Some green notes, a little awkward. Not Ausone’s finest hour, I feel. A bit chewy and green. We have to take the development on trust really, although I know the wine provoked greater enthusiasm a couple of days before.
Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020
