2015 Ausone (Ex Chateau 2023)

The 2015 Ausone was tasted directly against the Cheval Blanc, which is always an intriguing pairing. This is extremely pure, opulent and superbly delineated, with Morello cherry, pencil lead, camphor and licorice aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy, generous and lightly spiced, with saturated tannins and cough candy-infused red fruit. It tightens up a little toward the finish but lingers long in the mouth. Excellent. Tasted at the 2015 Ten-Year-On tasting at Bordeaux Index.

Vibrant medium intensity cherry red, the limestone fingerprint clear even visually in that it is more jewel-like than most in the vintage. A masterclass in what slate scrape and pumice stone means when talking about texture in a wine, set against a caress of black cherry, raspberry, white tea, pomegranate, gunsmoke, leather, exceptional with a juicy finish, truly outstanding - and this is a higher score than I gave it back in 2022 in a vertical at the estate. 85% new oak for ageing.

Tasted blind. Deep crimson but an evolved rim. Sweet ink on the nose. A warm buttery note. Not quite as focused as some. At the moment it is a collection of parts rather than a whole. A bit stringy on the end. Mint and liquorice. Lots going on there. Ch Quintus? Ch Ausone? (JR)