The full-bodied, dense ruby-hued 2013 Pinot Noir Ritchie, which comes from the Calera clone of Pinot Noir, reveals plenty of beet root, forest floor, Asian hoisin sauce, plum, blackcurrant and cherry notes, as well as terrific... Read More
As for the 2014 Pinot Noir UV, this wine comes two-thirds from the Calera clone of Pinot Noir and the rest from a Vosne-Romanée clone (which we all know, but no one's saying, probably emanated from the famous Domaine de la... Read More
Another stunner is the 2014 Chardonnay Sugar Shack. This wine, which was harvested August 18, 2014, was one of the earliest picks Mark Aubert had ever done. The wine offers up great fruit, which includes notes of pineapple, green... Read More
The 2016 Chardonnay Sugar Shack Estate is opulent straight out of the gate, with stunning orange peel, candied ginger, nutmeg and ripe apricot with touches of cashews and croissant. The full-bodied palate explodes with expressive... Read More
No tasting note for this wine. Mark Aubert is one of the contenders for California's finest practitioner of Burgundian-styled, yet classic, California Chardonnays. His offerings are all made like grand cru Burgundies with... Read More
Giving up zingy lemon zest and grapefruit notes with layer upon layer of chalk dust, marzipan, honeyed brioche and ginger plus a touch of coriander seed, the 2015 Chardonnay UV-SL has a full-bodied powerhouse of a palate that... Read More
Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2016 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard sports a very earthy nose laced with underbrush, damp soil and mossy bark over a black fruit core plus a pretty perfumed undercurrent of sandalwood, aniseed... Read More
Aubert's 2011 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard is easily the most refined of the wines in this range of Pinots. Intensely perfumed and layered - but not at all heavy - the UV-SL has all its elements in perfect balance. Savory herbs,... Read More
The 2013 Pinot Noir UV-SL, primarily made from Calera and Vosne-Romanée clonal material, boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of blackcurrants, black cherries, forest floor and beet root. The complex aromatics... Read More
The 2013 Pinot Noir UV-SL, primarily made from Calera and Vosne-Romanée clonal material, boasts a dense ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of blackcurrants, black cherries, forest floor and beet root. The complex aromatics... Read More
The tightest of the three Pinot Noirs, was the 2015 Pinot Noir UV-SL. This Pinot Noir, made from equal parts Calera and a Vosne-Romanée clone, shows terrific fruit intensity, slightly higher acids and more tannin in a more backward... Read More
Starting with his 2011 Cornas, it's a rocking wine in the vintage that's still showing every bit as well as it did on release. Massive minerality, violets, bloody meat and sweet blackcurrant and black raspberry-like fruit... Read More
1987 is a successful vintage for Ausone, which produced a wine with nearly 13% natural alcohol. Surprisingly ripe, with the exotic, mineral-scented character so typical of this property, the 1987 Ausone is a medium-bodied, ripe,... Read More
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... Read More
Two bottles were badly corked, which is certainly a scary situation for a wine where only 1,000 or so cases were produced. However, a third bottle was magical and just short of perfection. Its saturated purple color was followed... Read More
The 2001 Ausone has put on even more weight than I anticipated. The "wine of the vintage," this inky/purple-colored 2001 boasts a provocative, floral perfume of crushed stones, raspberries, blackberries, creme de cassis, licorice,... Read More
The 2003 Ausone is off the charts in terms of richness. While I gave a 3-digit score to the 2000, I think this profoundly concentrated wine may be even more sublime and exotic. Its inky/blue/purple color is followed by an extraordinary... Read More
I'm not going out on a limb saying the 2005 Ausone is better than the 2003, 2000, etc., but it is certainly at the same level. It is a wine of great intensity with extraordinary extract as well as a seamless integration of... Read More
One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier... Read More
One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier... Read More
The 2007 Ausone is a candidate for one of the wines of the vintage, rivaling Pavie and Lafite Rothschild. Its deep ruby/purple hue is accompanied by a beautiful nose of spring flowers, raspberries, black currants, and crushed... Read More
Possibly the "wine of the vintage," the 2008 boasts an inky/blue/purple color as well as a glorious perfume of spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur, camphor, truffles and crushed rocks. With great fruit on the attack... Read More
The 2010 Ausone struck me as another brilliant, potentially perfect wine, which should come as no shock to people who have been following Vauthier's work over the last decade or more. Backward and intense, this wine offers... Read More
Its bigger sibling, the 2011 Ausone increases the level of intensity, elegance, complexity, richness and length. Nearly a mirror image of the La Chapelle, just with more going on, the Ausone boasts a more saturated purple color,... Read More