The 1999 Ausone replicated the impressive performance it showed from barrel. It went through an awkward stage after bottling but now it has reached adulthood, this is a great success for the vintage, a wine that I suspect will be under-estimated against the 2000 and 2001. It has a very intense bouquet with blackberry and blueberry aromas, the oak nicely integrated and over the course of three hours it achieved more and more precision until it attained an almost pastille-like purity. The palate is medium-bodied with surprisingly sumptuous tannin that lend it a velvety texture. There is a lushness countered by a sense of tension and it just blossoms after three or four hours in the glass. Do not ignore this wine. Tasted at the Ausone vertical in London. März 2018

Is the 1999 Ausone the wine of the vintage? Dense purple color, a compelling bouquet of licorice, minerals, black and blueberry liqueur, extraordinary delineation, high tannin, superb extract, and phenomenal richness all are the stuff of a legend. This wine seems impossible to have emerged from a vintage like 1999. Proprietor Alain Vauthier produced only 20,000 bottles because he eliminated one-fourth of the tiny crop. The result is out-and-out fabulous, but the wine needs 12-15 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050. April 2002