A Work Morning, and a Tasting That Has to Think for Others

A Work Morning — Tasting with the Market in Mind

This was not a pleasure tasting.

And it was not about personal preference.

It was a working session —

one that requires thinking beyond the glass:

for the market,

for restaurant contexts,

for food pairings,

and for drinkers who may not yet know every name on the label.

Château Ausone needs little introduction.

Yet the Vauthier family portfolio extends far beyond the flagship wine.

Each label expresses a shared philosophy —

while responding to different market realities:

by-the-glass programs, gastronomic tables, structured ageing,

or accessible entry points into Right Bank style.

This weekday morning, we tasted with Camille

in a focused, professional setting —

less about prestige, more about function.

The intention was not to rank wines,

but to consider how each might perform within specific portfolio structures.

A few reflections:

• Château Simard 2014 — Fresh red fruit, gentle evolution.

An accessible introduction to Saint-Émilion style, well-suited for entry positioning in restaurant programs.

• Haut-Simard 2018 — Balanced structure with integrated tannins.

Immediate drinkability with enough backbone for confident by-the-glass placement.

• Château de Fonbel 2020 — Spiced, structured, food-driven.

Clearly built for real market environments where versatility matters.

• Moulin Saint-Georges 2017 — Merlot-led, composed, gastronomic.

More aligned with curated wine lists than casual solo consumption.

• La Clotte 2019 — Precise acidity, depth, and elegance.

A refined expression offering a thoughtful entry into the Ausone universe.

And of course, Chapelle d’Ausone 2015 and Château Ausone 2008

remind us what long-term precision and patience can achieve —

wines that speak quietly, yet persistently.

After the Glass

What the Vauthier family builds is not only the preservation of a historic name,

but a structured ecosystem of wines —

each designed with context in mind.

Several of these cuvées remain underrepresented in the Thai market,

despite strong clarity of positioning within the right portfolio architecture.

Sometimes a tasting is not about what we like.

It is about understanding where a wine belongs.

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