Ric re-visits Château Angélus

The Jürade de Saint-Émilion du Singapour has had the distinct privilege of visiting Château Angélus twice, first in June 2019 and, almost four years to the date, on 05 June 2023, the bells obliging us with their rendition of Majullah Singapura on each visit. In between, the château has increased its holdings to 40 ha while Stephanie de Boüard-Rivoal has taken an increasing role in setting the château’s future direction from her father, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, producing a dry white for the first time with the 2020 vintage. For our second visit, the château honoured us with a tasting of the 2017 vintage followed by a private dinner at its tasting room hosted by its Manager for Asia, Ms Bong Grelat-Tram, where we had the privilege of tasting again the impossible-to-find 2020 Angélus Grand Vin Blanc (retailing at €1000 at its restaurant Logis de la Cadène) in as many weeks, as well as the increasingly rare 1988 Château Angélus. All the wines were drinking superbly, a testimony to the château’s rightful place at the top tier of Saint-Émilion. But, of course, Château Angélus has famously removed itself from the Saint-Émilion classification of 2022 (along with Ausone and Cheval Blanc), meaning that 2021 will be the final time one sees Premier Grand Cru Classé A being printed on its label, which will forever be included amongst other interesting trivia about the château: the year when the article L’ was dropped (1989), when church cloisters were removed from the label (2001), when the bottles were embossed with ANGÉLUS (2000). We popped the question to Ms Bong, and it seems the reason is, quite simply, that the château has been there and that it is time to free itself of undue obligations to gain the freedom of deciding its own direction. From its track record under Hubert, and now with fresh visions and goals from Stephanie, one can be sure that the château will continue its unerring course towards even greater heights. Many thanks, Hubert and Ms Bong, for your time, generosity and kind hospitality.

2011 Château Angélus. Deep impenetrable purple. Effusive bouquet of concentrated dark plums, ripe blackberries and dark cherries. Big, ripe and well-extracted, imparting dense layers of warm dark fruits and currants on the rounded medium-full palate that exert taut tension and clean acidity, finishing with traces of licorice. Tasted June 2019 at the château.

2017 Le Carillon d’Angélus. Deep purple. Restrained at first, gradually yielding notes of haw and rosy hues from its discernible cabernet franc. Generously proportioned and full, gelling together very well with supple intensity and superb freshness, turning a little more perfumed with more juicy succulence though there is a hint of stems at the finish, underpinned by very subtle minerality throughout. Highly successful, considering the difficult frosty vintage where the château decided to only pick the first-generation grapes. Tasted June 2023 at the château.

2010 Le Carillon d’Angélus. Deep purple. Fairly effusive in black fruits and dark currants. Medium-full. More forwardly balanced, structured with seamless tannins that exert supple intensity though it doesn’t plumb the depths. Distinctly masculine. Comprises 40% cabernet franc and 60% merlot. Tasted over dinner at the château, June 2023.

2017 Château Angélus. Impenetrable deep purple. Distant ripe fruit of black currants and violets, imparting delicious cool tones. Softly contoured. Medium presence. Very well balanced and supple, graced with understated acidity and seamless smooth tannins that confer delicate elegance. Good delineation. Modest finish. Very fine indeed. Already highly accessible. Tasted June 2023 at the château.

2020 Angélus Grand Vin Blanc. Pale. Nose of crème de la crème with a hint of tropical fruit and distant icing. Medium presence. Very precisely layered with delicate agility and excellent clarity where the various grape varietals are clearly discernible. Has a certain cool aloofness. Tasted over dinner at the château, June 2023.

2015 Château Angélus. Deep garnet. Effusive in dark fruits. Very ample with masculine proportions. Great depth and tight intensity of fruit that exert superb acidity and tension, held together with controlled hedonism. Perfectly balanced. Still primal. Tasted over dinner at the château, June 2023.

1988 Château L’Angélus. The final vintage to feature the article L’. Deep crimson with bricking. Beautiful tertiary characters on the nose with distinct capsicum and mature ripe berries, exuding exalted lift with overtones of black pepper. The fleshy medium-full palate is still very lively and supple, totally seamless by now, delighting with fresh dark currants tinged with cigar box that finished with a bit of spicy glow, displaying great energy and balance throughout. At its best and will hold. Tasted over dinner at the château, June 2023.

2015 Klein Constantia Vin de Constance. A muscat from Stellenbosch, South Africa, where the château has some holdings. Luminous gold. Effusive in nectarine, honeyed tones and brioche supported by superb acidity. Not too luscious. Well balanced. Tasted over dinner at the château, June 2023.