Ausone occupies about seven hectares cut into the limestone escarpment below the church at Saint-Émilion, with cellars hollowed straight into the rock beneath the vines. The name honours the Roman poet Ausonius, thought to have had a villa somewhere nearby. Along with Cheval Blanc it held the top rank of the Saint-Émilion classification, and it remains one of the smallest great estates in France: production has never run to more than a few thousand cases a year.
In 1971 the property was in the hands of the Vauthier and Dubois-Challon families, in the years before Pascal Delbeck arrived later in the decade and transformed its consistency. Ausone of this era divides opinion, and it is fair to say the wines were less reliable then than they became. What is not in question is the rarity: at this scale, a surviving bottle of any given vintage is a genuinely scarce object.
This is bought as a piece of Saint-Émilion history attached to a year, and it is priced accordingly.
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Producer: Château Ausone
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Vintage: 1971
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Appellation: Saint-Émilion AOC
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Format: 75cl
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Region: Bordeaux, France
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Style: Red
Where it is likely to be now. Ausone's limestone-grown wines are among the longest-lived in Bordeaux, but this is an inconsistent era for the estate and the damaged capsule adds uncertainty, so buy it as an object first and a drink second.
Who it suits. A landmark gift for a fifty-fifth birthday, for a recipient who will understand what a bottle from a seven-hectare Saint-Émilion estate actually represents.
Condition. The foil capsule is damaged, which is cosmetic and common on bottles of this age, though it also means the cork underneath cannot be assessed until the bottle is opened.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
