- Château Ausone has been released for £6,000 per 12×75.
- Neal Martin rated this ‘compelling’ Ausone 93-95 points.
- The 2017 and 2014 vintages are available for significant discounts.
As part of this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, Château Ausone 2021 has been released at €500 per bottle ex-négociant, unchanged on the 2020’s opening price.
It is being offered by the international trade for £6,000 per 12×75. The 2017, 2019 and 2014 vintages look better value in relation to today’s release. See more Fair Value analysis below.
Volumes offered are reportedly down 40% on last year. It is also the last vintage of Ausone that will bear the title Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘A’ as the estate has withdrawn from this year’s Saint-Emilion classification.
Critics’ scores
The estate has received a number of positive scores from several critics for its 2021. The Vinous critics, Neal Martin and Antonio Galloni, both rated the wine 93-95.
Martin commented he didn’t find ‘the thrilling “drive” or the pyrotechnics of the 2001, 2010, 2016 or 2019’. Nonetheless, he found it ‘compelling in its own uncompromising way’.
The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley rated it 97-100 and said it was ‘a strong candidate for the title of wine of the vintage’ and a ‘profound young Ausone’ that ‘represents the essence of this great limestone terroir’.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent) gave it a score of 95-97 points.
Fair Value analysis
The 2017 vintage which has the same score as the 2021 is available for £4,900 per case, a discount of 22.4%. Even if the 2021 is eventually scored at the upper-end of Martin’s barrel score, it will look poor value relative to the 2017.
Furthermore, the better-rated 2014 is likewise available for £4,600 per dozen and the very highly rated 2019 has a Market Price roughly equivalent to today’s release.
Looking further back, the 2012 vintage has a score of 96-points from Martin and a current Market Price of £4,290 per dozen.
Other releases
Second label Chapelle d’Ausone was also released at £1,560 per case.
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2021 page contains everything you need to know about this year’s campaign. You can also sign up for our daily En Primeur email alerts using the form below.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 580+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines. Independent data, direct from the market.
