1996 Château Ausone, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Notably deep crimson. Very very intense, almost burnt nose. It is round and soft with lots packed in there – but a bit awkward at present. Iron fist in a velvet glove stuff but with oddly rustic tannins on the finish. I think this was an interim vintage before Alain Vauthier really got into his stride.

Drink 2010 - 2025

The 1996 Ausone is a vintage that I have tasted on four or five occasions. This was similar to previous examples with a very floral and outgoing bouquet, those wilted violet petals infusing the boysenberry and blueberry fruit, quite glossy in style, one of the most modern of that decade. It certainly has more intensity than earlier vintages. 

The palate is medium-bodied with sweet and ripe tannin, impressive acidity and weight, although it does not revel in the complexity of other vintages, perhaps because the growing season did not favour the Right Bank. There is a touch of headiness on the finish that is a little otiose, but otherwise, this is a thoroughly enjoyable Ausone.

Drink 2018 - 2038

Full red-ruby. Exotic aromas of black cherry, cassis, minerals, smoke, clove and mint. Thick with extract, but with Ausone classic restrained sweetness and mineral backbone. Sound acidity gives the flavours superb clarity and grip. It finishes with extremely persistent, subtle fruit and noble, palate-saturing tannins. It's extraordinarily fine for a right-bank wine from this vintage.

Alain Vauthier's potentially great '98 is one of the most complex wines of the vintage from one of Bordeaux's greatest sites. Ausone harvested between September 28 and October 5 in "a series of small bursts," according to Vauthier, and even the cabernet franc here came in with potential alcohol in the high 12.8% range. The extraction is relatively short here, and in '98, Vauthier carried out less frequent, gentler remontages. "The more I taste, the more I think people here are overworking their wines," said Vauthier.

A brilliant Ausone, the 1996 displays this property's tell-tale mineral characteristic in its multidimensional bouquet. In addition, there is a plum-like liqueur intermixed with black currants, cold steel, floral, and crushed stone scents. Dense, rich, and extremely subtle, this medium-bodied Ausone possesses extraordinary richness yet no sense of heaviness. It takes the prize for having a rare equilibrium of flavour and structure. 

As the wine sat in the glass, I was convinced I smelled violets or something that reminded me of the 1990 Comte de Vogue Musigny. Undoubtedly one of the great wines of the vintage, the 1996 Ausone will require a decade of cellaring. 

Anticipated maturity: 2006 - 2050