Ausone

1er Grand Cru Classé A - Saint Emilion

Château Ausone, owned by the Vauthier family, is a seven-hectare wine estate located in Saint-Émilion in the Gironde region of France.

Ranked as the leading producer in the region, 15,000 to 18,000 bottles of Château Ausone are produced every year. It represents a powerful and very aromatic wine of Saint-Emilion.

What are the specificities of Château Ausone?

Legend has it that the Château Ausone is the original Lucaniac villa dating back to the 4th century belonging to the famous Roman poet Ausonius. In the lower part of the estate there are remains of a Roman villa. Nevertheless, there is no way to verify if the legend is true.

Château Ausone is one of the rare Bordeaux estates to have rarely changed hands over the years. In fact, only 3 different families have owned this Saint-Emilion estate since its creation. This is quite an achievement considering the number of players involved in the buying and selling of Bordeaux châteaux. Alain Vauthier, who runs the Château Ausone, and his daughter Pauline Vauthier are today the direct descendants of the 17th century owner.

Alain Vauthier succeeded in taking over the estate after a long and heated legal battle with the other half of the family. Alain Vauthier already knew Ausone very well, having worked as a winemaker at the estate since 1976.

Without a doubt, the estate has the honour of being gifted with one of the best terroirs in Bordeaux. The terroir of steep slopes is clay and limestone, which gives the wine of Château Ausone its intense mineral character.

The wine of the Château is a blend of 2 different grape varieties:

• Cabernet Franc 65%
• Merlot 35%

We note a slow evolution of the vineyard over the years with the planting of more Cabernet Franc and thus the reduction of Merlot. The Cabernet Sauvignon plantation is a small part. Indeed, the Cabernet Sauvignon is only included in the Second Wine.

The vines are 50 years old on average. The Château owns the oldest vines in Saint-Emilion. Indeed, there are vines over 100 years old. The oldest of them were planted in 1906.

The vinification is carried out in traditional oak vats. The wine is then aged in 100% new French oak barrels for up to 24 months.

The estate has also been producing a second wine "La Chapelle d'Ausone" since 1995. This is a blended wine of equal proportions of Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a very small portion of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Best vintages of Château Ausone: 2005 2003 2010 2009 2008 ...

Find the most beautiful vintages and rare wines on Comptoir des Millésimes.