Vinous - Score: 94 (Mar. 2018)

The 1999 Ausone replicated the impressive performance it showed from barrel. It went through an awkward stage after bottling but now it has reached adulthood, this is a great success for the vintage, a wine that I suspect will be under-estimated against the 2000 and 2001. It has a very intense bouquet with blackberry and blueberry aromas, the oak nicely integrated and over the course of three hours it achieved more and more precision until it attained an almost pastille-like purity. The palate is medium-bodied with surprisingly sumptuous tannin that lend it a velvety texture. There is a lushness countered by a sense of tension and it just blossoms after three or four hours in the glass. Do not ignore this wine. Tasted at the Ausone vertical in London.