WEINWISSER: "Extrem dunkles Violett, fast schwarz in der Mitte. Trotz der Zurückhaltung wuchtige Ansätze im Nasenbild, geprägt von reifen, blauen und schwarzen Beeren mit einer pfeffrigen, vielschichtig parfümierten Note unterlegt, Schwarztee-, Darjeeling- und Teakholznoten. Komplexer, satter Gaumenauftritt, alles im reifen Bereich, aber mit einer dramatischen, verlangenden Adstringenz, Massen von Gerbstoffen, die sich mit der reichen Aromatik verbinden und für eine ausufernde Dimension sorgen. Ein Ausone mit mindestens 50 bis 100 Jahren Potenzial, also ein Wein, den die nächste Generation irgendwann öffnen und als Beweis nehmen wird, dass auch die neueren Bordeaux ein Jahrhundert lang auf höchstem Niveau Freude machen. Der beste St-Emilion des Jahrgangs."
WINESPECTATOR: "I love the tobacco, berry, cigar box, toasty oak, ripe fruit and fresh mushroom flavors in this full-bodied red, which has ultralayered tannins and vanilla, new oak and berry character. Powerful and superconcentrated, with great length. This is a muscular, full-throttle wine, racing very, very fast. Best after 2019. 1,330 cases made." - JS.
WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Barrel sample. A superb wine that brings together all the qualities of this vintage. It has great fruit, layers of acidity, dark tannins and a velvety texture, without losing the sense of place that sets great Bordeaux apart."
JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Classic, ripe claret nose. Very ripe. More austere than some, but lovely freshness. Everything in its place. Long and prancing on the palate."
ANTONIO GALLONI: "Deep ruby-red. Penetrating aromas of cassis and minerals. The nose does not prepare one for this huge, improbably sweet, palate-saturating wine, whose pungent minerality and epic intensity makes it solid as a rock. The three-dimensional texture here is uncanny, and the wine´s explosive finishing flavors of dark berries, bitter chocolate and minerals persist for minutes. This must be one of the three or four greatest young Bordeaux I´ve ever tasted. The numbers here: 14.28% alcohol, 3.55 pH and an IPT between 80 and 85. This will go on for several decades, and I would not be at all surprised if it shut down in bottle for a very long time." - Stephen Tanzer - May 2008.
THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "With a wall of crushed rocks, mint, flowers, juicy, sweet, plums, cherry and blackberry, this inky colored wine is clearly massive, intense, and concentrated. Powerful, yet refined, this is quite tight at the moment and not fun to taste . Give it at least another decade and a few hours of air, and the magic should happen."
THE WINEADVOCATE: "The 2005 Ausone is a perfect wine of the vintage. It displays crushed rock, spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning purity and richness, and perfect harmony among all of its component parts (acidity, tannin, wood, alcohol and extract). Still youthful, but oh, so promising, this wine should be set aside for another decade and drunk over the following 50-75 years." Drink: 2025-2100 - Robert M. Parker, Jr.
