Château Ausone 2020

Deep and layered with rich, ripe blackcurrant, cherry and plum fruit that expands slowly while the texture – sleek, straight and direct – does the talking. Clean with a powdery mineral grip of liquorice and graphite that takes hold and doesn't let go. Structured and focused, no doubt muscular in its power yet so finely knit together. Laser-sharp, serious at the moment, this will take a while before it really starts to shine. It's not out to charm right now but it certainly captivates.

The floral aromas on the nose are spectacular, with violets, lavender, and honeysuckle. Then there’s wet stone and freshly cut limestone. There are also raspberries and blueberries. The palate is full-bodied yet very tight and reserved, with fine tannins that run the length of the wine, as well as hints of cedar, sandalwood, and vanilla bean. It’s long, very racy, and complex. Needs eight to ten years of bottle age to open and come together. Try after 2032.

The 2020 Ausone is stellar. Usually a showier wine, Ausone is packed with bright acids, deep fruit and loads of supporting structure. Dark red fruit, blood orange, pomegranate, rose petal, mocha and dried herbs all leap from the glass. Deep and layered, with magnificent finesse, Ausone is lights out in 2020. What a wine. Readers lucky enough to own it are in for a thrilling ride over the next few decades.

This captivates your focus with its showy display of flowers, crushed rocks, black, red and blue fruit, espresso and thyme. It takes a bit of coaxing and patience, but there is an incredible level of depth, purity, refinement, and vibrancy at play here on the palate as the wine gently coats your palate with its layers of salt-infused black and dark red fruits. The deep, seamless finish crosses the 60-second mark and keeps on going, continuing to show its essence of minerals and fresh berries. This could be the longest-lived wine of the vintage. Drink from 2030–2075.

A little open at the beginning. Some Amarena cherry. Peppery notes. With air contact, red and blackcurrant. Then increasingly resinous-spicy aromas. On the palate, fleshy tannins with a powerful chalky-mineral underpinned tannic grain, plus a cultivated, integrated yet ripe acidity. Very long plateau phase in the structure, vibrating with tension, yet also with a creamy underpinning that embeds and rounds everything out. Great length.

A stunning wine that seduces with a creamy, luscious kick of spiced raspberry and blueberry fruit at first, then a more austere touch of limestone, with threads of orange peel, lemongrass, steel and slate adding a stricter character. This is a masterclass in smart winemaking, in knowing exactly when to step back and let the terroir take over. The depth on offer here is both hidden and yet fully apparent, and as it gathers steam across the palate, gunsmoke and mocha appear, along with the telltale oyster-shell salinity on the finish. 100% new oak, Pauline Vauthier winemaker with cellar master Philippe Baillarguet. First year of official conversion to organic farming.

The 2020 Ausone, composed of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. After a shake or two, the nose erupts with the most gorgeous perfume of juicy blueberries, baked black plums, and black raspberries, followed by nuances of pencil shavings, iron ore, rose oil, and black truffles with a waft of cedar. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with shimmery, energetic black and blue berry layers, framed by super-ripe, super fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and a whole firework display of floral, mineral, and bright, pure fruit notes. This is incredible!

A nose that carries you into a room clad in marble and tapestries, with those sooty notes from the fireplace fires of our childhood. On the palate, an embrace of ripe fruit wrapped in airy tannins, as silky as a coat. Undoubtedly the quintessential example of that gentle power so characteristic of the vintage.

The wine is powerful and impressively rich. Its perfumed character is intense from 50% Cabernet Franc. With layers of great, velvety tannins and wonderful juicy acidity, the wine is set to age well. Drink from 2028.