Château Ausone 2025

The 2025 Ausone represents the entirety of the vineyard this year after trial blends convinced the Vauthiers not to make a Chapelle d’Ausone. There is also 5% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend for the first time, from five tiny plots located on a terrace close to the quarry, so that heat reflects off the wall to ensure ripening. It was picked between September 2 and 23. Almost immediately, I noticed how that soupçon of Cabernet Sauvignon tilts the style of the Grand Vin in a different and, to my mind, positive direction. Beautifully defined, a little more sapid, perhaps just a tad less precocious than usual, there is a sense of classicism in this Ausone that I admire, terroir over growing season perhaps? The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, real depth, silky smooth, with layers of blackberry and raspberry fruit and hints of white pepper and clove. Very long, with a peacock’s tail on the finish, this is a fascinating and alluring Ausone that will age with style. Drinking window: 2035-2065. (Neal Martin,vinous.com)