2001 Ausone

Alain Vauthier's 2003 may well turn out to be the single right-bank wine that's at the quality level of the best Medoc wines of this extreme vintage. Vauthier began his harvest on September 15, then brought in his superb cabernet franc during the last week of the month. He told me that the blend today is close to 14% alcohol, and that the cabernet franc was even riper than the merlot. The yield here was just under 30 hectoliters per hectare, and the IPT was 77, vs. 72 for the 2000. Unlike many of his colleagues, who sought to protect their grapes from the broiling sun in 2003, Vauthier carried out his normal leaf-pulling at veraison He felt that it was important to get the grapes used to the sun, "like someone who starts his summer at the beach in April." And he also did his normal green harvesting, to eliminate grapes that were green or grilled. Vauthier considers 2003 to be a great vintage, with outstanding longer-term potential. In comparison, he told me, 2002 is a fruitier style of Ausone, while the 2001 is austere and classic.

It's tempting to say that perfectionist proprietor Alain Vauthier has crafted wine-of-the-vintage candidates in every vintage since 1998, and the 2002 is remarkably strong for the right bank. Vauthier currently rates his young 2002 behind the 2001 but notes that he harvested extremely rich cabernet franc with potential alcohol ranging as high as 14%. The wine will be a 55/45 blend of cabernet franc and merlot. There was very little coulure here in '02 and a normal crop level, according to Vauthier.

"With the quantity of fruit down 25% and the amount of work in the vines up 20% to 30%, the 2001 vintage at Ausone was one-and-a-half times more expensive to make than the 2000," said Alain Vauthier, perhaps explaining why he was hesitant to cut the price for his 2001. Vauthier made just 28 hectoliters per hectare in 2001 following a strict green harvest; the grapes came in with the same potential alcohol as in the previous year but with a bit more acidity. Still, Vauthier says, the 2000 has more vinosity; the malolactic fermentations went quickly and there's more density of material to buffer the tannins. The 2001, in contrast, was characterized by a very long secondary fermentation (all in barriques), and Vauthier feels that the wine was less fruity early on than the 2000 and more disjointed when I sampled it at the beginning of April.