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This is really open with bright and flamboyant aromas of cassis and cherries. Blueberries. Some peaches as well. I don’t remember a young Ausone like that. Full-bodied with flamboyant fruit and energy. Very fine tannins. They are there but you don’t feel them. Supple but very fruity. And intensely fruity at the end.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe Ausone 2022 is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc, with a yield of 38 hl/ha. The Merlot was harvested between 5th and 7th September and the Cabernet Franc between 21st and 27th September. It has a pH of 3.57, a TPI of 66, and it is opaque purple in color. The wine is completely closed on the first smell, requiring a lot of swirling to begin to release fragrant notes of dried roses, licorice, cast-iron pan, and cumin seed, giving way to a core of Morello cherries, wild blueberries, and redcurrant preserves. The full-bodied palate is an exercise in elegance, featuring very fine-grained, very firm tannins and breathtaking tension to frame the tightly wound red and black fruit layers, finishing with epic length and mind-blowing complexity. Holding its cards close to its chest, it’s a hard wine to read at first glance, yet there’s a lot of nuanced sub-text bound within the rock-solid structure. I see this slowly unfolding over many years to become a wine for the ages.The Wine Independent | 97-99+ TWIThe Grand Vin from this hallowed terroir is an even split of Cabernet Franc and Merlot that was fermented in wooden vats and will spend 20 months in new barrels. Its saturated purple hue is followed by an up-front, sexy, full-bodied Ausone offering a wealth of fruit as well as notes of black cherries, blueberries, chocolate, scorched earth, and an incredible sense of spring flowers. Concentrated and incredibly pure, with silky tannins on the palate, it has the texture and fruit to almost shine even now but should still evolve for 30 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96-98 JDQuite intense nose, strongly perfumed and scented with purple flowers and a mix of red and black fruit. Fragrant with chocolate, tobacco, cedar, cinnamon, crushed stones and liquorice. Aromatically very inviting. Plush and sapid, tannins are ripe but the acidity gives it real tension so you get some intensity of texture and sharpness of fruit on the palate making it a bit serious and tense right now though with lovely detail and lots of precision in terms of tannins and fruit. Mouthwatering acidity is at the fore, really giving some zing and electricity to this while the crushed stones, liquorice and clove spice give the accents around the edges. Clear strength and concentration, such power underneath - you do feel the heat from the alcohol (15.4%!) but the acidity and soft mineral elements help keep the balance and frame though it’s not as demonstrably mineral as some years. Acidity does settle and this expands slowly - keeping the linearity and sense of focus but also giving hints to its power and ageability. Sculpted and well delivered, characterful and confident with long ageing potential. Long finish with graphite, pencil lead and toasted spices on the finish. 3.57pH 85% grand vin, 20,000 bottles. Harvest 5 and 9 September for Merlot, 21 and 27 September for Cabernet Franc. A yield of 38hl/ha. Potential upscore in bottle.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2022 Ausone was picked from 5 to 30 September and matured for 20 months in French oak. These aromatics take a little time to open in the glass. Once they do, they are precise with wilted iris flowers infusing the black fruit and background pencil box and incense hints. The palate is medium-bodied with silver bead acidity threaded through the blackberry and bilberry fruit. Fresh and focused, this Ausone possesses a structured finish with a pinch of black pepper on the finish. Elegant in style, this Ausone almost creeps up in you and seduces, intellectual and persistent in the mouth. Upon departing, I couldn’t help wondering if I had witnessed this Saint-Émilion demonstrates its full potential, hence the plus sign against my score. 14.4% alcohol.Vinous Media | 95-97+ VMA blend of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Ausone unwinds in the glass with aromas of plums, raspberries and cherries complemented by hints of crushed mint and spices, framed by a lavish patina of creamy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and rather muscular, it’s deep and concentrated, its vibrant core of fruit framed by a serious chassis of rich, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, saline finish. Given its imposing levels of structuring extract, it will require patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RP

A clear stand out in 2022 with so much promise. Bright and energetic, quite lean in terms of tannic structure but straight and not austere or raw, maintains a clear direction with detail and definition all the way through. Nothing seems too much, great energy and focus with cool black and blue fruits, a salty minerality and toasted liquorice. Delicate almost, such refinement given the core of power and concentration but so delicately presented you’d almost think it wasnt there. This takes some time to reveal its layers in the glass, opening up slowly with the ripe fruit, and sense of verticality coming in after a few minutes. I love the sculpting but it’s how this wine opens and grows that is so compelling. It’s so enormously powerful, but so well caged right now, pure, clean, crisp, soft, chalky, intense and cool. A fabulous wine.Decanter | 98 DECVery structured LFP with black berry, chocolate, walnut and spice character. Full yet fresh with tannic tension and energy in the finish. One for the cellar. 96.5% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 0.5% petit verdot.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe 2022 La Fleur-Petrus is composed of 96.5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 0.5% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose is completely locked-down to start, needing a lot of shaking to wake up profound notes of Morello cherries, fresh black plums, and boysenberry preserves, giving way to graceful waves of iron ore and iris scents with a touch of wood smoke. the full-bodied palate is an exercise in finesse, featuring beautifully ripe, silt-like tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing long and minerally. Impressive wine, yet it will require some patient cellaring.The Wine Independent | 96-98 TWIWhile this château normally produces one of the most perfumed, elegant, ethereal wines in the appellation, the 2022 Château La Fleur-Petrus is a powerhouse offering loads of ripe red and black fruits, leafy tobacco, chocolate, and spring flower-like aromas and flavors. These carry over to the palate, where the wine shows a touch more of its classic elegance and is full-bodied, has a seamless, layered mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDThe high point of the Mouiex portfolio this year is the beautiful 2022 La Fleur-Pétrus, a wine that derives from a number of prime clay-gravel parcels on Pomerol’s plateau. Wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis and cherries mingled with hints of orange zest, pencil shavings and toasty oak, it’s medium to full-bodied, ripe and fleshy, with an ample core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, perfumed finish. Seamless and complete, it will offer a broad drinking window.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPThe 2022 La Fleur-Pétrus is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Sweet floral and spice notes lift a core of ripe red-toned fruit. The 2022 offers a gorgeous combination of finesse and opulence, but still in the mid-weight style that is such a signature here.Vinous Media | 94-96 VM