Château Ausone
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| Château Ausone | |
| Region | Bordeaux |
|---|---|
| Appellation | Saint-Émilion |
| Classification | Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) |
| Area | 7.3 |
| Cases per year (12 x 750 mL)
|
2000 |
| Grand vin | Château Ausone |
| Second wine | Chapelle d'Ausone |
| Grape varieties | Cabernet Franc (50%), Merlot (50%) |
Château Ausone is a Bordeaux wine from Saint-Émilion appellation, one of only two wines, along with Château Cheval Blanc, to be ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located on the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the Gironde department, close to the town of Saint-Émilion.
The winery also produces a second wine named Chapelle d'Ausone.
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[edit] History
Ausone takes its name from Decimus Magnus Ausonius (310-395 CE), a statesman and poet from Bordeaux who owned about 100 acres of vineyard, and it is believed by some that Château Ausone stands upon the foundations of his villa.[1][2]
The modern estate can be dated to the 18th century, when it was owned by Jean Cantenat. Later, under the ownership of the Lafargue family, the vineyard was inherited by Edouard Dubois who steered the château through the difficulties of the late 19th century, and in 1916 added the the adjacent Château Belair to their estate.[3] The chateaux were run separately, although both age their wine in the Ausone cave.[1] After Dubois died in 1921, his widow and children took over the work.
Placed on the western edge of 11th century village Saint-Émilion, with elevated vineyards facing south on steep terraces in ideal situation, Ausone was one of a few wineries who escaped the terrible frost of 1956, unlike neighbours like Cheval Blanc who lost several years' vintages and in some cases suffered destruction of vines.[1]
For several years Ausone was jointly owned by the Dubois-Challon and Vauthier families, but after a period of unsettlement, feuding was brought to an end when the Vauthiers bought the Dubois-Challon shares in 1995.[3]
Despite being one of the great names of Bordeaux, Ausone fell into decline until Pascal Delbeck was appointed winemaker in 1976.[4] Michel Rolland was appointed consultant winemaker in 1995, with Delbeck retained as viticulturist.
[edit] Production
The success of the wine produced at Ausone is attributed to a combination of exposure and the soil, a mixture of sand and clay on limestone unique to the district.[2] The vineyard is 7.3 hectares with a grape variety of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot, planted with a density of 6,000 plants per hectare.[4] Due to the small scale of the vineyards, picking may be done at an optimal moment, usually in two afternoons.[2]
The average production is about 2,000 cases, a sixth of Cheval Blanc. The cellars are caves in the limestone cliffs beneath the town of Saint-Émilion.
