2006 Ausone

Exceptionally deep purple - no sign of age! Yet on the nose it seems rather developed. Odd! A bit of kirsch, a bit of sweat. You could think of approaching this in the next few years at least compared with some in this flight. But it's awfully hard work at the moment. Pronounced greenness on the finish.www.jancisrobinson.com, 20 Jan 2010

One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier has at his beloved Ausone? Boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, precise bouquet of minerals, flowers, blueberry liqueur, and black currants, this wine possesses fabulous fruit and great intensity, but what makes it so special is its precision, focus, and almost ethereal lightness despite substantial flavor intensity and depth. It is a ballerina with density and power. The abundant noticeable tannin is sweet and, not surprisingly, very finely grained. It should be cellared for a decade, and consumed over the following half century. Wine Advocate.February, 2009

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London.The 2006 Chateau Ausone has a fragrant bouquet compared to the 2006 Pavie, fomenting more secondary aromas such as smoke, cigar box, potpourri and a smear of Seville orange marmalade. The palate is very refined on the entry, rounded and supple in the mouth. It clearly does not have the density and weight of the Pavie, but it exerts an insistent grip in the mouth and the tannins have symmetry on the finish. It is a very fine Ausone, although Alain Vauthier has overseen better vintages in recent years. Tasted January 2016. May 2016, www.robertparker.com