2015 Château Ausone: 100-Point “Wine of the Vintage”

If Bordeaux has a “mic drop,” it’s 2015 Château Ausone.

Multiple critics handed this vintage a perfect 100 points, and Jeb Dunnuck even dubbed it “Wine of the Vintage.” Easy to see why—Ausone is one of the most profound terroir expressions in all of Bordeaux, and 2015 is the kind of year that lets it flex everything at once: power, precision, and that signature crushed-limestone clarity.

Why Ausone is different

Château Ausone sits at the absolute peak of Saint-Émilion as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A—a tier reserved for the region’s most elite, long-lived wines.

What makes it truly singular is the site: steep, south-facing limestone slopes with pure limestone bedrock and thin topsoil. That’s where Ausone gets its signature edge—power with a mineral “cut” you almost never see at this level of richness.

In the vines, the Vauthier family farms at exceptionally high density (~12,000 vines/ha vs. ~5,000 typical), forcing competition that naturally drives lower yields and greater concentration.

And it’s scarce by design: production is only ~1,500–2,000 cases per vintage.

The 2015 blend: Ausone’s signature balance

The 2015 is built around roughly equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot, which is exactly why Ausone hits different:

• Cabernet Franc = lift, florality, precision, architectural lines
• Merlot = depth, richness, and that silky, palate-staining structure

2015 was warm and dry, delivering spectacular ripeness, but the limestone kept the wine fresh, energized, and insanely defined—a perfect collision of hedonism and clarity.

What 2015 Ausone tastes like

Expect a layered, high-definition profile:

• Dark fruit (black cherry, cassis, plum)
• Floral aromatics (violet, rose petal)
• Crushed stone / limestone minerality
• Savory complexity (tobacco leaf, spice, graphite)
  

It’s still youthful, but with air, the purity already shows—a cellar-defining Ausone that will evolve for a generation.

Format offered

Offered here in 3-pack Original Wood (OWC) — a format worthy of the wine, ideal for pristine storage and long-term aging.

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