Château Ausone
A tiny, revered Saint-Émilion estate on steep limestone slopes, Ausone makes some of the Right Bank's rarest and longest-lived wines from Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
About Château
Château Ausone sits on the western edge of Saint-Émilion, its vineyards facing south across steep limestone terraces named for the Roman statesman and poet Ausonius. The modern estate took shape in the 18th century under Jean Cantenat and passed through the Dubois-Challon and Vauthier families; after years of legal feuding, the Vauthiers bought out the Dubois-Challon shares in the mid-1990s, with Alain Vauthier becoming managing director. Today Alain and his daughter Pauline Vauthier direct the property. The vineyard covers roughly 7 hectares planted to a near-even split of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, yielding only about 2,000 cases a year between the Grand vin and the second wine, Chapelle d'Ausone. Prized for crystalline minerality and exceptional aging potential, Ausone is among the smallest and most coveted estates of the Right Bank, regularly commanding the highest prices in Saint-Émilion.
Flagship wines
- Château Ausone
- Chapelle d'Ausone
Editorial notes
Production is minuscule and bottles are scarce and very expensive; mature vintages reward long cellaring and benefit from decanting.