Château Ausone
St-Émilion, Bordeaux, France
A limestone amphitheatre above St-Émilion, and one of the great names that walked away from the classification.
Register once and Lamont’s will contact you when the next allocation is confirmed. No deposit and no obligation to purchase.
Classification
St-Émilion Grand Cru (withdrew from the classification, 2022)
Status
Interest open
Register your interest
Access
By allocation
For Lamont’s clients
Notification
We contact you
Before each release
Why we follow Château Ausone
The estate
One of Bordeaux's smallest and most historic estates, named for the Roman poet Ausonius, on the côte and plateau at the southern edge of St-Émilion. Owned by the Vauthier family; Pauline Vauthier is the driving winemaking force, with her father Alain Vauthier. In July 2021 Ausone confirmed it would not submit a dossier for the 2022 St-Émilion classification, withdrawing from the ranking in which it had held Premier Grand Cru Classé A status since inception. The stated objection: judging criteria gave too little weight to terroir and wine quality relative to marketing, tourism and communication.
The vineyards
Roughly 7 hectares on the côte, split across the limestone plateau and the steep south/southeast-facing clay-limestone slopes. Plantings roughly half Cabernet Franc and half Merlot.
In the glass
Hand-harvest, small-batch vinification, long élevage in a high proportion of new oak in limestone cellars cut into the côte. Production is tiny. Ausone and Cheval Blanc leaving the classification the same year was described in the trade as landing "like a clap of thunder." Their departure, plus Angélus, reduced the top A tier and prompted the 2022 promotion of Figeac.
With Lamont’s
Offered through the Private Cellar Selection, generally following the April release. Register your interest and we will contact you when the next allocation is confirmed.
The wines
Request individual wines, or the whole estate. We will contact you when an allocation is confirmed.
Request the whole Château Ausone range
For collectors who would consider any available Château Ausone allocation, across every tier.
The wines
Château Ausone
Roughly half Cabernet Franc, half Merlot.
Chapelle d'Ausone
The second wine, more accessible.
Release and availability
Current availability
Not currently open
Follow Château Ausone and Lamont’s will contact you when the next allocation is confirmed.
Register interestNext expected release
April
Timing is indicative and can move with the producer or the vintage.
View allocation calendarRelease timing is indicative. Importer schedules and vintage conditions can move the expected month.
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How allocations are offered
It records which producers and wines interest you, so we know who to contact when a release is confirmed.
Availability depends on what arrives and how many customers are waiting. In some years there is very little to go round.
Our team considers purchase history, genuine interest and intended enjoyment. We would rather a case went to someone who will open it and tell us what they thought than to whoever asked first.
Change what you follow at any time from My allocation requests. Release timing moves with the producer and the vintage, so the months on the release calendar are a guide rather than a promise.
Explore the Private Cellar Selection
See upcoming releases from Château Ausone and other benchmark estates.