Tasting Notes
Robert Parker 96
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Ausone opens with notes of sweaty leather, iron ore, Marmite toast and prunes with hints of dried herbs and charcuterie plus a medicinal waft. Full-bodied, the palate has a very racy line of acidity and well-played, chewy tannins supporting the maturing fruit, finishing with an herbal lift.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2042
JancisRobinson.com 17.5+
Tasted blind. Deep opaque garnet. Spicy and floral but still with lots of dark-red fruits. Just a touch charry and still plenty of oak in evidence. Minty! Firm, savoury on the palate with black olives. Chewy but not tough tannins. Beefy but not brash. (JH)
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2040
Vinous 98+
Deep, saturated ruby-red. Musky aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, coffee, violet, Christmas spices, minerals and exotic oak, complicated by graphite minerality. Boasts uncanny intensity, calcaire energy and power on the palate, but there’s also a deeply creamy texture brought by this superripe vintage. Boasts extraordinary inner-mouth aromatic character and finishes with great tannic spine. The building, endless finish boasts great clarity and perfume. A transcendent Ausone in its combination of power and elegance. This stunning wine will be improving in bottle long after I’ve expired.
