Ausone is perched at the top of a limestone cliff on the eastern flank of St-Emilion, and with only 7 hectares of vineyards, rarity as much as its exquisite reputation contribute to the astronomical price the wine can command. Nobody knows for certain if what is now Ausone was once the site of the villa of the Roman poet Ausonius, who spent his youth and his retirement locally. From time to time, Roman pottery turns up in the vineyard, and the foundations of a Roman Villa have been discovered at the foot of the slope. But if nothing else, it adds romance to the story of the chateau which certainly, at least, took its name from the illustrious Roman forebearer. In more modern history, the last 500 years have seen only three families own the wine estate of Ausone, with Pauline Vauthier the twelfth generation of the most recent of those.

15% of the vineyards lie on the plateau, with the rest toppling down the shallow-soil, clay-on-limestone slopes to the road, below. Plantings are 55% Cabernet Franc/40% Merlot/4% Cabernet Sauvignon/1% Petit Verdot. Farming is organic (but uncertified), and everything is done by hand. It rather has to be, on the punishing slope here. The wine is raised in 80-100% new oak but even so, it tends to display a tense mineral freshness in youth which (I am told) rounds out elegantly with age.

Ausone did occupy the most elevated tier of the St-Emilion classification, Premier Grand Cru Classe A, but in 2021, alongside Cheval Blanc, it withdrew, citing doubts about the latest classification criteria. It was a blow to the credibility of the classification. (NT 13/08/25)