Chateau Ausone Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2022 750ml

The grand vin is 50% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and the élevage was in 100% new French oak barrels for 20 months. Dark and a little brooding on the nose, this starts off with a little matchsticky reduction beneath which the fruit is currently hiding. With a little time it begins to emerge, led by confit red cherry and crushed summer fruits, then rose petals, verbena and mint all eventually coming to the fore. The palate is a delight, charming and fresh, with a supple upper layer of juicy cherry and currant fruits, garlanded with rose petals, verbena, acacia and mint, which rests over a tightly knit base of tannins which persist beneath the fruit and runs into the finish, gently coating rather than dominating the palate. This is a stunning Ausone, with such purity and finesse, such completeness of tannic structure and floral fruit, so integrated and yet clearly brimming with potential, its future seems destined to be magnificent. The alcohol is declared on the label to be a striking 15%, of which there is no real suggestion on the palate at all, but if that bothers you, now you know. A remarkable wine.