Château-Ausone St. Emilion 2019

Like a bouquet of fresh flowers on the nose, as well as blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. Sandalwood as well. Full-bodied with incredibly polished tannins that have the texture of the finest velvet. The palate is very fine, oriented with fabulously pure fruit and minerally and stone undertones at the finish. It's so classical in nature. Essence of Ausone. 60% cabernet franc and 40% merlot. From organically grown grapes. Best after 2027.

The wine's power and density shows against its beautifully textured black fruits. With richness and concentration, this is serious, impressive and needing plenty of aging. It is magnificent, not to be drunk before 2027.

The 2019 Ausone has a perfumed nose with another Cabernet Franc-driven set of aromas, gravel and loam infusing the black fruit. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a beautifully sculpted wine with a killer line of acidity and immense precision on the finish. This just sashays along with style. Fabulous. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

A brilliant wine in every way, Alain Vauthier's 2019 Château Ausone reveals a dense purple color as well as an incredible bouquet of ripe black cherries, blueberries, acacia flowers, lead pencil, and classy oak. It shows the elegant style of the vintage yet brings a wealth of fruit, lavish richness, and a great, great finish, all while holding onto beautiful precision and purity. It has some accessibility today (surprising for a young Ausone) but deserves at least 7-8 years of bottle age and will evolve for well over three decades.

Unwinding in the glass with deep aromas of wild berries, vine smoke, orange rind, exotic spices and violets, framed by a deft application of classy new oak, the 2019 Ausone is full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with beautiful purity of fruit, lively acids and ripe but abundant structuring tannins. Deep, layered and vibrant, it's full of potential and will likely emerge as one of the most long-lived 2019s. This is another magical wine from what many consider to be Saint-Émilion's greatest terroir, and it will demand and richly reward patience.