Auslese is German for "selected." The third level of the "QmP" or "Qualitätswein mit Prädikat" - Quality wine with special attributes scale. Auslese designated wines come from selected very ripe grapes. They tend to have a slight degree of botrytis...
Austere is a tasting term which is generally applied to wines that are hard or unyielding in the sense that they are difficult to smell. This is often the case with young wines that have yet to develop bottle bouquet.