Château Ausone 1996
Château Ausone 1996 is a red wine from Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux, produced by Château Ausone and owned by Alain and Catherine Vauthier. Classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A of Saint-Émilion, it blends equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Wine Advocate awards it 92/100 and advises tasting between 2016 and 2035; Jancis Robinson scores it 17.5/20, with a window from 2010 to 2025. Critics describe an intense and still deep wine, with a floral and mentholated bouquet, a round and supple palate, notes of blueberry and blackcurrant, and a finish featuring more rustic tannins.
La bouteille proposée
- Size
- Bottle (75cl)
- Packaging
- Loose
- Label Condition
- Perfect
- Fill Level
- Perfect
- Capsule Condition
- Perfect
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Red
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Bordeaux
- Appellation
- Saint Emilion
- Producteur / Domaine
- Château Ausone
- Millésime
- 1996
Cépage et assemblage
- Grape Variety
- 50% Cabernet Franc, 50% Merlot
Château Ausone
Château Ausone is a wine estate in Saint-Émilion, situated on a limestone hillside overlooking the Dordogne valley. Its 7-hectare vineyard, laid out in terraces, is predominantly planted with Cabernet Franc and supplemented with Merlot. The estate is owned by the Vauthier family, who have been associated with the estate since 1690.
- Owner
- Famille Vauthier
- Maître de chais
- Philippe Baillarguet
- Surface (ha)
- 7.25 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- environ 20 000 bouteilles/an
Histoire du domaine
The estate’s archives mention the ‘pierrières et casteau Dauzonne’ as early as 1592, providing ancient evidence of the site’s occupation and its limestone quarries. The Vauthier family acquired Ausone in 1690 and has ensured its continuity within the family ever since. The estate is now run by the eleventh generation of this family of winegrowers. Its vineyard covers 7 hectares of small terraces situated on a rocky promontory in Saint-Émilion. The plots are planted on soils of asterian limestone and clay-limestone. Cabernet Franc predominates, alongside Merlot; some vines are over a century old. Alain Vauthier and his eldest daughter, Pauline, are currently involved in the winemaking process. Philippe Baillarguet, cellar master at Château Ausone since 1997, is also in charge of the cellar for Ausone at Vignobles Vauthier. The wines are aged in the estate’s limestone quarries.
