2021 Chateau Ausone

Other Reviews....
A blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, the 2021 Ausone is a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild blueberries and raspberries mingled with rose petals, violets, exotic spices, vine smoke and blood orange, it's full-bodied, seamless and sensual, with a satiny attack that segues into a deep, layered mid-palate of breathtaking precision and intensity without weight. Built around bright acids and ultra-refined tannins and concluding with a resonant, perfumed finish, this profound young Ausone represents the essence of this great limestone terroir. I am not in the habit of drinking six-month-old Bordeaux cask samples, but this is one wine that would have sorely tempted me to make an exception to that rule if my appointment at the estate hadn't been one of the first of the day!
97-100 points
William Kelley - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2021 Ausone is a gorgeous wine, but it is also quite reticent and in need of time to come around. The operative word here is balance, as all the elements are so well put together. Soft, gentle contours wrap around a core of succulent red/purplish fruit, blood orange, spice, lavender, rose petal and dried herbs. The 2021 is compelling. Drink 2036-2061.
95 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous

On the nose, this refined and silky wine shows violets, raspberries, blackcurrants and crushed stone. Medium-bodied, with cocoa and sandalwood. The center palate is deep and flavorful, solid fruit and a wonderful texture going long and horizontal. It makes you smile. Drinkable now but better in a year or two.
96 points
James Suckling

Perfumed nose, full of pot pourri, scented flowers, dried raspberries and cherries. Really quite evocative, maybe in a vertical you'd pick this out from the nose but it smells wonderful and rich with cool blueberries. Round and charming, this is gorgeously soft, tannins are so inviting, caressing the mouth, not deep at all, this is delicate and primed to float across the tongue, registering the flavours but no heaviness. Almost ethereal in its performance. Really very delicious, full of flavour and character. Gorgeous styling and only got better after half an hour in the glass. Succulent, mineral, graphite, limestone touches on the finish remind you where you are. Drink 2028-2050.
96 points
Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Underbrush, smoke, cigar wrapper, espresso, spice, dark cocoa, flowers, and the strong sensation of crushed rocks and stones tossed into the Atlantic ocean create the enticing bouquet. On the palate, the wine is medium/full-bodied, elegant, polished, and chalky with layers of sweet, ripe, earthy, red pit fruits, salty tannins, herbs dark chocolate. There is length, minerality, and complexity on the mid-palate and a vibrancy to the red fruits with a strong crushed rock influence in the finish. This is a serious candidate for the wine of the vintage. Made from a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot,12.8% ABV, pH 3.6. The harvest took place from September 30 - October 6. The yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Only 1,200 cases were produced this year. Drink from 2028-2065.
96-98 points
Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider