Ausone 2002

In many respects, the 2002 may be even more impressive than the 2003. A far more challenging vintage to get everything right, and especially in St.-Emilion, where many disappointments have been produced, this is one of the wines of the vintage and (along with Pavie) among the finest wines from the Right Bank. It possesses a deep purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of creme de cassis, blackberries, wet stones, and wonderfully perfumed floral notes. When the wine hits the palate, it exhibits impressive purity, medium to full body, a multi-layered texture, and extraordinary precision and intensity with a finish just short of 50 seconds. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2035.

Tasted blind at Farr's 2002 Bordeaux tasting. This is a beautiful wine. A bouquet surfeit with joie-de-vivre and élan, ripe black cherries, cassis and a touch of damson, but underneath all that precocious fruit is a real, tangible sense of minerality. The palate is silky smooth on the entry with vestiges of creamy oak still to be resolved, wonderful persistency on the licentious finish. Gorgeous! Tasted October 2009.

Dark layered crimson. Graphite and minerally nose that seemed almost Rhône-like. Very dry finish. Still youthful with quite sweet fruit. After 24 hours the nose was not that fresh but there was certainly substance there. This was the most 'modern' of this range. Slightly drying on the end. It seemed worthy only of 17 on the second night. Drink 2014 - 2030.

A candidate for wine of the vintage, and clearly the finest 2002 from Bordeaux’s right bank (a vintage that favors the Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines of the Medoc), the 2002 Ausone boasts an opaque blue/purple color as well as aromas reminiscent of liqueur of crushed rocks interwoven with raspberries, black currants, and licorice. It is extraordinarily pure, precise, medium to full-bodied, and while possessing huge levels of tannin, they are balanced by equally prodigious levels of concentrated fruit. Although aged in 100% new oak, the wood is not detectable given the amazing concentration and texture of this profound 2002. It is a tour de force in winemaking from one of the most meticulous and conscientious wine producers in Bordeaux. Perfectionist proprietor Alain Vauthier seemingly can do no wrong. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2060