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Château Ausone is one of the most mythical estates of St-Émilion – Premier Grand Cru Classé A until 2021, since then (like Cheval Blanc and Angélus) without official rank. On just 7 hectares, the smallest vineyard of all the great First Growths of Bordeaux, the Vauthier family produces a Cabernet Franc–driven wine of penetrating minerality and legendary longevity. Secure the Grand Vin or the second wine La Chapelle d’Ausone.
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Château Ausone is one of the most mythical estates of St-Émilion on the Right Bank of the Gironde – a wine that embodies the influence of limestone terroir like almost no other. Until 2021, it had been Premier Grand Cru Classé A since 1955; since then, like Cheval Blanc and Angélus, the estate has held no official rank. On just 7 hectares – the smallest vineyard area of all of Bordeaux’s great “first growths” – on a steep south-facing slope above the village, a Cabernet Franc-dominated wine of penetrating minerality is produced. The owner is the Vauthier family; the wines are overseen by Pauline Vauthier. The Grand Vin is complemented by La Chapelle d’Ausone.
Ausone bears the name of the Roman poet Decimus Magnus Ausonius (4th century), who is believed to have lived in a villa at the foot of the slope; Roman finds are still unearthed there to this day. In five centuries, the estate has had only three owning families. Alain Vauthier ended a decades-long, conflict-ridden co-ownership with his great-aunt Héylette Dubois-Challon in 1997 and became sole owner. Today he runs the estate together with his daughter Pauline Vauthier – the twelfth generation – who has overseen the wines since 2005/2006; her siblings Édouard and Constance are also involved. There has been no external winemaking consultant since 2013.
Ausone had stood at the absolute pinnacle of St-Émilion as Premier Grand Cru Classé A since 1955. In July 2021, it withdrew from the classification – together with Cheval Blanc, and shortly afterwards Angélus – out of dissatisfaction with criteria that no longer sufficiently weighted terroir and wine quality. This changes nothing about its standing as one of the region’s greatest wines.
The terroir lies at the heart of the Ausone legend: around 15 percent of the vines grow on the limestone plateau (at 85 metres), the rest on steep, south-facing clay-limestone côtes with a particularly thin topsoil, bordered by dry-stone walls. These slopes are extremely laborious to work – everything is done by hand. Even after ageing in a great deal of new oak, the wine remains threaded through with a fine minerality, the “turbocharged freshness” of the limestone.
The blend comprises around 55% Cabernet Franc (with a rising trend), 40 to 45% Merlot, plus small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, with planting densities of up to 12,000 vines per hectare in parts of the vineyard. The vines are very old, averaging around 50 years; the low yield of around 33 hl/ha accounts for part of the concentration.
The vineyards have been farmed organically (uncertified) since Pauline’s arrival. After picking, the grapes undergo an overnight cold maceration; after fermentation in tank, malolactic fermentation and barrel ageing follow (80 to 100 percent new oak). Beneath the estate lie historic quarries of around 8,000 square metres and up to 25 metres deep; their uppermost section, held at a constant 12 degrees, is used for barrel ageing.
The Grand Vin Château Ausone makes up around 90 percent of the already tiny production (roughly 1,500 to 2,000 cases), with the second wine La Chapelle d’Ausone accounting for around 10 percent. The Vauthier family’s holdings also include La Clotte (which likewise withdrew from the classification), Moulin-Saint-Georges, de Fonbel, Simard and Haut-Simard (St-Émilion).
Ausone unites concentration with soaring elegance: dark and red fruit, graphite, spice, a pronounced mineral tension, and a texture that, with age, seems almost to levitate. Those who taste the wine only young are often surprised by how gourmand and multi-layered it becomes after ten or twenty years – always with the mineral core of the limestone at its heart.
Among the outstanding recent vintages are 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Among the more mature vintages, 1982, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2005 and 2010 are especially rewarding – Ausone is considered one of the longest-lived wines of Bordeaux.
In great vintages, the Grand Vin ages for thirty to fifty years and unfolds fully only after fifteen to twenty years at the earliest. La Chapelle d’Ausone reaches its peak after eight to twelve years.
European Wine-Searcher listings for current vintages (retail prices incl. VAT, indicative values):
Ausone is among the rarest and most sought-after wines of Bordeaux; its withdrawal from the classification has changed nothing in that regard.
An entry into the style is offered by La Chapelle d’Ausone. For collectors, the Grand Vin in great vintages is the strategic holding – an extremely long-lived, minerally driven St-Émilion of the utmost rarity, ideally from secure provenance.
Who owns Château Ausone? The estate belongs to the Vauthier family; Alain Vauthier has been sole owner since 1997. The wines are overseen by his daughter Pauline Vauthier.
What classification level does Ausone hold? Ausone was Premier Grand Cru Classé A from 1955, but withdrew from the St-Émilion classification in 2021 and has held no official rank since.
Why did Ausone leave the classification? Out of dissatisfaction with criteria that, in the family’s view, weighted marketing and wine tourism too heavily and terroir and wine quality too little.
What is the Grand Vin’s blend? The blend comprises around 55% Cabernet Franc (rising) and 40 to 45% Merlot, plus small proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.
How large is Ausone? Just 7 hectares – the smallest vineyard area of all of Bordeaux’s great “first growths”; annual production runs to around 1,500 to 2,000 cases.
What does a bottle of Ausone cost? Current vintages of the Grand Vin sit at around 500 to 900 euros on the European market, with mature top vintages considerably higher. La Chapelle d’Ausone starts at around 150 euros.
Like no other estate, Ausone embodies the influence of St-Émilion’s limestone terroir – a tiny estate run by the Vauthier family with uncompromising care. As one of three estates that withdrew from the classification in 2021/2022, it remains, for all its rarity, one of the greatest wines of the Right Bank.
