Chateau Ausone 2018

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2018 Ausone is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, rather predictably, the nose is almost completely shut-down on first sniff, taking considerable aeration to begin to reveal its jaw-dropping perfume of ripe black cherries, wild blueberries and plum preserves, leading to suggestions of candied violets, molten chocolate, licorice and crushed rocks with subtle cedar and pencil lead hints. The medium to full-bodied palate (14.5% alcohol) is so tightly wound and nuanced at this stage, it requires a lot of focus unravel all that is going on here. In short: a lot. The ripe, rich, black and blue fruit layers eventually give way to the beautifully cerebral earthy/minerally subtext, carried by fantastically well-knit tension, delivering an incredibly long, foundation-shaking finish. If the earth doesn't move when you drink this, you're probably not doing it right."

WEINWISSER: "60 % Cabernet Franc, 40 % Merlot. Purpurgranat mit satter Mitte und violettem Rand. Was für ein Parfüm mit Waldhimbeeren und Cassis, sehr komplex und dicht verwoben mit rot- und blaubeeriger Frucht. Erkalteter Früchtetee und Preiselbeersaft, rote Kirschen. Am Gaumen mit engmaschigem Körper, verlangenden Tanninen sowie zarter Extraktsüsse. Im gebündelten Finale ruht der Gigant in sich, um dann mit einer gewaltigen Ladung von getrockneten blauen Beeren, Wacholder und Rosmarin zu explodieren. Für Pauline wird dieser Ausone bereits in einem sehr frühen Stadium viel Vergnügen bereiten. Dem kann ich nur zustimmen! Teilt sich dieses Jahr den 2. Platz mit Cheval-Blanc und ist auf direktem Weg zur Traumnote."

DECANTER: "This is deep and ripped, coming out you like a powerhouse, then it stops, tiptoes away, then rises up to slowly stretch out through the palate, displaying incredible tension and length. Graphite, flint, earth, crushed stone, blackberry, cassis and a juicy salinity from the scrape of limestone. Pretty clear this is going to power through the next 30-40 years effortlessly. And it just keeps going. Clearly survived the drought of the summer without so much as breaking a sweat. 3.6pH. Average age of the vines is 52 years old. A yield of 38hl/ha."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2018 Ausone is deep garnet purple in color. There is oak to begin, giving way to a great core of baked black plums, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, and incense, plus Indian spices and violets. Full-bodied, it is rich, concentrated, and decadent in the mouth, with a fantastic backbone of freshness and velvety tannins, finishing very long and layered."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "With a depth of flavor that feels like they managed to pack a magnum into a single bottle, this wine is all about its intensity and incredible sense of minerality and purity. Rich, fabulously concentrated and deep, the seamless finish which surpasses 60 seconds is loaded velvet drenched black, blue and red fruit, spice, smoke, earth, licorice, crushed rocks, stones and oyster shells. The cashmere tannins, and vibrancy is awe inspiring. The wine blends 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, 14.5% ABV. If you have the money, there are few wines at this level of quality produced from any vineyard in the world."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Aromas of blackberry, black cherry, licorice, iodine and dried shitake mushroom. Opens and changes to violets and lavender. Full-bodied and tight with creamy and refined tannins that run the length of the wine and takes you down into the depth of the wine. Needs years to open yet it’s already so gorgeous to taste. Try after 2027."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zarte Gewürznote, angenehme Edelholznuancen, schwarze Beerenfrucht unterlegt, Brombeeren, kandierte Orangenzesten. Komplex, straff, feines Waldbeerkonfit, seidige, gut integrierte Tannine, mineralisch-salziger Touch, bleibt gut haften, gutes Reifepotenzial."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "The perfumes of this wine just pour from the glass. They measure up to the promise of the black tannins and dark, dense fruits, the monumental structure and juicy black-plum flavors. The whole ethos of this wine is towards long-term aging to great power and intensity for the future. Drink from 2028."

VINUM: "Suberbe Aromatik von schwarzen Beeren, frisch beerig, dicht, von grosser aromatischer Intensität und Spannung, ewig lang mit ungemein frischen, seidigen Tanninen ohne Härte, von absolut majestätischer Art."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Black core with narrow purple rim. Intense, aromatic if slightly charry cassis. Very fine fruit – intense but surprisingly juicy and fresh. Rounded yet powerful. Chewy and with a great undertow of terrific, perfectly ripe fruit and there's a much clearer influence of Cabernet Franc here, with that freshness it brings. Just fresh enough but would show a lot better if the sample were cooler. (JH)"