Chateau Ausone 1996

ANTONIO GALLONI: "Full red-ruby. Exotic aromas of black cherry, cassis, minerals, smoke, clove and mint. Thick with extract, but with Ausone classic restrained sweetness and mineral backbone. Sound acidity gives the flavors superb clarity and grip. Finishes with extremely persistent, subtle fruit and noble, palate-saturing tannins. Extraordinarily fine for a right-bank wine from this vintage."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Notably deep crimson. Very very intense, almost burnt nose. Round and soft with lots packed in there – but a bit awkward at present. Iron fist in a velvet glove stuff but with oddly rustic tannins on the finish. This was an interim vintage before Alain Vauthier really got into his stride I think."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Austere in nature, there is an herbal, leafy edge to the fresh, red fruits crushed stone and earthy character. There is concentration and an almost Medocian nature to the fruit and tannins. Time should help, but fully soften and flesh out the wine. Lovers of classic Bordeaux that miss this style will like this more than I did."

THE WINEADVOCATE: "Tasted on three occasions within a two-month period, the 1996 Ausone is an impressive wine, but one that I feel does not reach the heights that Alain Vauthier and latterly his daughter Pauline have reached more recently. Deep and more youthful in color than previous bottles, it delivered a minty, floral, almost Margaux-like bouquet whose intensity has remained undimmed in all the years I have been tasting it. The palate is medium-bodied with a heady attack on the entry, a little warmth here that slightly smudged the delineation, Merlot in the driving seat for the first half and the Cabernet Franc component imparting blueberry and cassis notes on the finish. There is something a little showy about this Ausone -- certainly a very fine Saint Emilion and very respectable considering that this was not a propitious Right Bank vintage. Then again, in retrospect one can view it as a stepping stone to the successes of the 21st century."

WEINWISSER: "Recht dunkles Purpur-Rubin, fast keine Reifetöne. Wuchtiges, fleischiges Bouquet, viel Tiefe zeigend, noch etwas ausbrechend mit wildem, trüffeligem Cabernet-Touch. Im Gaumen fleischig, kräftig, viel Adstringenz zeigend, innen cremig mit viel Kraft, insgesamt aber trotz der Intensität fein und im Gegensatz zu anderen Weinen von der Rive gauche noch viel Potenzial in sich bergend."

WINESPECTATOR: "Complex aromas of blackberry, coffee, cedar and lightly grilled meat. Full-bodied and very structured, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish."