Tonight with delicious Friday night dinner for two, after a full day that included *TWO* matinee British-production theater shows in Jerusalem (The Israel Festival) plus a visit to a friend there.

Chateau Ausone				1978	St. Emilion

5/95. Bought in auction Feb-95 for $90 (imported from Chicago for $100 net).
The greatest Bordeaux I had so far! (No comparison to the Haut Brion 1970 I recently had). The wine was decanted (i.e completely poured into a glass decanter. Lock, stock, and sediment < g >), and was let to breathe for two hours before the meal.
COLOR: Dark brick-red with some brown hues. Not particularly brilliant and full of sediment.
NOSE: Powerful and superbly elegant. At first - pecan(!), tobacco, truffles, and leather with an underlying layer of red fruits. Later, the fruit aroma gained more and more predominance over other elements.
TASTE: If ever the term multiple-flavors was applicable - it is with this wine. The combination of body and smoothness played tricks on the palate all the time. It starts with licorice, chocolate, and plums, then goes on to develop million nuances of taste. The phenomena was so obvious, but its verbal description might sound silly. I'll try anyway. The sensation was similar to the 'peacock tail' effect known in the best of (B). I might call it "A Molecularly active wine"! It is not the general impression the wine leaves in your mouth, but the feeling that every single molecule in the wine reacts independently with your palate, to form a never ending dance. If I sound as if I got carried away, I am sorry. My language (ANY language) is inadequate to describe the pleasure.
LENGTH: All right, I measured it with my stop-watch! After 100 seconds I gave up. For the first 45 seconds after you swallowed, the the after-taste kept developing more and more in the mouth. then for the next 50-60 seconds you were just left with the same delicious taste hanging on to your taste buds.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: A full bodied wine yet smooth and elegant. A wine full of young vigor that is contained under a cloak of maturity. Wood, fruit, alcohol, acidity, and tannins - all amply present. The super structure and the fantastic balance promise many more years of vitality even to an unexperienced Bordeaux palate like mine.
OVERALL: A magnificent wine in all possible respects. Well, maybe the color could be less opaque. With my limited Bordeaux experience, I'd say (with the usual display of 'chutzpa') that I can hardly believe there are many better wine bottles than this has been. I read that the Ch. Ausone is a relatively rare wine (2000 cases as opposed to 12500 for the Cheval Blanc). I also read that the 1978 vintage was exceptional for this wine. I strongly urge any of the much more experienced Bordeaux drinkers to search their cellar for a bottle, and treat themselves to an unbelievable pleasure. I would very much like to hear from anyone who had the '78 Ausone recently, as I am very excited.
MARK: 19+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.