Château Ausone

Château Ausone is in Saint-Émilion, on the limestone hillside below the town. The name honours Decimius Magnus Ausonius, a Bordeaux statesman and poet who lived from 310 to 395 AD and who owned vineyard land. Some believe the château stands on the foundations of his villa. The modern estate dates to the 18th century, when Jean Cantenat owned it. Edouard Dubois guided it through difficulties in the late 19th century and added the neighbouring Château Belair in 1916.

The estate was long held jointly by the Dubois-Challon and Vauthier families. After a dispute between them in the 1960s and 1970s, Alain Vauthier took over in 1995. The Vauthier family owns the château today. Pascal Delbeck was appointed winemaker in 1976, and Michel Rolland became consultant oenologist in 2002. Ausone was classified Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) and no longer holds that rank after the 2022 reclassification.

The vineyard covers about 7 hectares, south-facing and mid-slope on the Saint-Émilion hillside. The soil is limestone with a surface layer of gravel. Cabernet Franc and Merlot are planted, at 6,500 vines per hectare. Because the vineyard is small, picking is done at the chosen moment, usually over two afternoons.

The grand vin ages for 16 to 18 months in French oak barrels, 85% of them new. Both the grand vin and the second wine, Chapelle d'Ausone, age in the estate's cellars, which are caves cut into the limestone beneath Saint-Émilion.