Bordeaux 2017: The campaign’s Swan-Ausone

The release of Château Ausone finally, after almost three months, draws a line under the 2017 en primeur campaign.

It’s all finally over

Released at €480 a bottle ex-négoce, an 18.4% reduction on the 2016 price, the wine is being offered for £5,650 a case.

Highly rated by Liv-ex’s global members and critics it is the last big name from either bank which will be given a general release (Petrus and Le Pin tend to be released a little later and availability is extremely limited).

Neal Martin rated the wine 94-96 and commented: “what a great Ausone this is destined to be”, while Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW hailed its “compelling tension” with a 97-99 point spread.

Ausone’s tiny production always means availability is tight, which in turn makes it a potential buy en primeur for those who follow it.

The back vintages of 2012 and 2014 might seem more compelling with their equal (2014) and better (2012) scores and chunky discounts to the 2017 release but despite the punchy price rarity may carry it through.

db will sift though the ashes of the 2017 campaign in detail in a post this afternoon.