Château Ausone: Vineyards
The vineyards of St Emilion are divided into four main terroirs. To the far west, abutting Pomerol, is the Graves-St-Emilion, where Château Cheval Blanc and Château Figeac are located on the Günzian graves de feu. The second terroir is sand, and there are two principal regions; travelling east towards the town of St Emilion there are 1,200 hectares, and along the banks of the Dordogne another 2,000 hectares. Neither region is home to any of the highest ranked estates, as these are concentrated in the fourth region, the limestone côtes around the town of St Emilion. Here is where we find the vineyards of Château Ausone, just below the château itself, a mere 7 hectares of vines mostly positioned in a suntrap, an amphitheatre of vines protected from frost. Such a small vineyard would make Château Ausone the Bordeaux region’s smallest first growth, although having withdrawn from the 2022 revision of the St Emilion classification the property no longer qualifies for the title.
The following images serve to illustrate the vineyard of Château Ausone, and are taken from the low wall that sits in front of the château. First (above), looking north; the buildings on the left are on the very periphery of the town. The two buildings to the right are on the far side of the aforementioned D122, the road leading up to the town. Here it is hidden in a depression, running between the vineyards.
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