Angélus

2020 Angélus Grand Vin Blanc. Ex-château. A new initiative from Hubert’s daughter Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, made from a tiny 1.2 ha comprising 50% chardonnay with equal parts of semillon and sauvignon blanc, aged in 50% new oak from Burgundian coopers. Pale. Gentle lift of vanillin oak amid some waxiness, leading to beautifully nuanced white tones of nutmeg and Asian spices infused with a full oily density, held together with sublime tension and cohesion. Very beautifully balanced with understated elegance, developing lovely complexity in the glass with a dominance of yellow fruit. This is its inaugural vintage, only 2000 bottles produced. This is as good as any true burgundy. Outstanding! Tasted May 2023.

2012 Le Carillon d’Angélus. Ex-château. Deep purple. Quite a heavy bouquet of raspberries and mulberries though the palate is only medium-weight, softly contoured and fleshy with pliant supple tannins. Very elegant, displaying youthful agility with lovely balance. Made from younger vines from differing plots within Angélus, gently extracted and vinified differently from the grand vin using 30% new oak. Tasted May 2023.

1982 Château Angélus. Popped and poured after about 30 minutes of aeration in bottle. Showing an evolved rusty red, this wine is still well and live, proffering an alluring soft complex of mulberries, red fruits, mandarins and grassy elements on the nose, not at all reductive. Quite fleshy on the palate with surprisingly lush succulence and fine inner detail, producing good grip in spite of its subtle intensity and understated structure, finishing with glowing persistence before beginning to fade after three hours. Can easily be mistaken for a Left Bank if tasted blind. Not at all dry. What a privilege! Tasted April 2019.

1989 Château Angélus. Tasted blind. Still rather dark, exuding an attractive earthy pungency amid overtones of green capsicum. Medium-bodied, imbued with abundant dark currants and ripe berries that impart a lovely feminine fleshiness with a highly supple mouthfeel, yielding fine definition with a hint of succulence, becoming more relaxed and understated with a hint of dry medicinal powder as it sat in the glass. Still remarkably fresh. Absolutely on song. Tasted October 2020.

1993 Château Angélus. Robust and full with notes of red fruits, plum and cinnamon, solid and almost angular on the palate. This rusticity took time to settle, whereupon the initial nose of earth, saddle and aniseed had transformed into quite a lovely bouquet of rose petals and cherries, while its angularity gave way to svelte tightly knitted tannins, though missing in charm. It remained this way till the last pour, where a metallic quality became discernible at the finish. To some extent, the 1993 shares similar qualities with the clarets of 1994. Totally under-rated. Would prove to be an astute buy if the price is right. Tasted October 2013.

1994 Château Angélus. Decanted on-site, a bottle personally autographed by Hubert Boüard de Laforest. Still displaying a fairly deep purple, this wine gave off a most attractive pungency on the nose amidst other aromas of sweet meat, almost complex in itself. Very good levels of raspberries and dark currants saturate the palate with open textures, well-matched against the salty minerality, framed by velvety tannins with just a hint of rusticity that left a puckered sensation on the tongue, a tad short at the finish, missing in opulence and voluptuousness. A classic example proving how the deficiencies of 1994 have been overblown. Quite excellent. Tasted June 2015.

1996 Château Angélus. Distinctive fragrance and lifted floral bouquet, leading to an open wine with supple textures, the notes of dark currants, ripe berries and a hint of cabernet franc carrying solid depth and layering with a mild medicinal note creeping in towards the last pour. This bottle is more fruit-forward and preferable compared to a previous one tasted in February 2012 (seemingly dry and backward), replete with substantial sur-maturite and typicity of a well-aged claret. Nevertheless, it still lacks the opulence and charm of Angélus from the best years. I doubt it will improve much further. Tasted October 2013.

1998 Château Angélus. Deep inky purple, loaded with a generous abundance of ripe merlot of fabulous intensity, its velvety supple tannins imparting great structure to the wine, achieving excellent linearity and definition all the way to its lasting finish. Yet the impression is a wine still far from peaking. Superb. Tasted April 2015.

1998 Château Angélus. Dark youth exuberance of sweet black berries and dark currants. Superbly fresh and vibrant with open supple intensity, displaying excellent linearity all the way to its persistent cool minty finish. Tasted November 2022.

1999 Château Angélus. Deep dark red, reticent on the nose but surprisingly weighty and dense on the palate, though lacking in layering and complexity initially, rather short and stern at the finish, very austere in demeanour. Things took a much more favourable turn after 60 minutes, becoming more flavoursome with plenty of red fruits emerging amidst tight tannins, continuing to grow in power and intensity until, by the last pour, the layering came through. This is very fine indeed for a ’99 – astonishing, in fact – and I’d not open another for at least 3-4 years. Tasted July 2011.

1999 Château Angélus. Decanted on site. Deep red with a bouquet of blueberries, other darker fruits and a note of soy. In spite of what was, supposedly, a wet vintage, the fruit is remarkably fresh and ripe, just missing in charm and outright opulence after the initial pour, rather stern in demeanour. After twenty minutes, it took on greater intensity with some biting tannins before settling into a smooth harmonious wine that was in no way hollow, though without much sparkle. But after an hour, it transformed into a wine of great concentration, becoming a lot weightier, opening up to reveal more layering in the mid-body with a lingering finish, performing better than previous tasting in July 2011. Excellent by any standard. Tasted September 2011.

1999 Château Angélus. This wine has just entered its phase of maturity where it is soft and open, yet carrying excellent weight and concentration of ripe supple merlot that offered characters of mulberries, redcurrants and cinnamon supported by sweet tannins at the sides that offset the darker cabernet structure very well, making for a highly attractive proposition, just missing real opulence and dazzle. Tasted August 2014.

2000 Château Angélus. Deep dark inky red, exuding a wonderful expanse and depth of gorgeous red fruits and dark currants on the full palate, solidly layered with great warmth, presence and ease, transitioning seamlessly to a glowing lengthy finish. Superbly balanced. Still highly youthful. Fabulous. The estate began embossing the word “ANGÉLUS” on the bottles beginning with this vintage. Tasted April 2019.

2001 Château Angélus. Deep garnet red with an early vermillion rim. Surprisingly reticent, taking a long time to develop aromas of old dew, bell hoppers and capsicum. The palate, though, is quite succulent from the outset, soft and fleshy with graphite minerals that are very well integrated, classically structured with sweet gentle tannins that imparted deep delicious tones. Excellent. Keen observers will note that the label no longer showed the image of church cloisters with effect from this vintage, a highly controversial move as the proprietor’s family is strictly Catholic. Tasted April 2019.

2001 Château Angélus. Purplish crimson. This under-rated wine opens with a savoury expanse of ripe fruit and currants well into their tertiary development, exuding lovely complexity with a dash of earthiness. Superbly integrated and wonderfully fresh, proffering excellent detail of soft gritty tannins that add further dimension to its lush succulence, finishing well with superb linearity. Outstanding. Hubert has expressed a personal preference for this vintage over the much-vaunted 2000. Tasted May 2023.

2003 Château Angélus. Violets, mulberries and raspberries dominate on the effusive bouquet, adding a bit of a herbal plume over time. Fleshy and open with good inner detail and lovely fragrance, utterly seamless, traversing the palate with fine intensity and linearity. Again just a little short, consistent with other 2003s. Tasted April 2019.

2004 Château Angélus. Deep garnet red, proffering dense aromas of dark berries with a peppery hint. Medium-bodied and fleshy. Darkish in tone. Classically structured with good presence, exuding lovely charm in spite of some vegetal traces, again just missing in depth and opulence. Very fine. Tasted April 2019.

2004 Château Angélus. Deep purple. Medium-full. Well-extracted and generously proportioned but still relatively tight, imbued with an impressive depth of ripe red fruits, dark plums, blackberries and currants with a sprinkling of graphite minerals. Good balance. May need another decade or two to ease up with secondary characteristics. Tasted April 2022.

2004 Château Angélus. Still rather dark and restrained though the open palate is wonderfully fresh and supple with an even presence of cool ripe fruit, structured with smooth velvety tannins that yield superb detail. Very well balanced, developing a gentle intensity with further notes of soy. This must qualify as one of the best wines of that classical vintage. Tasted May 2023.

2006 Château Angélus. Deep inky red, effusive in very fine minerals, dark cherries and mahogany with traces of vanillin. Fleshy full presence, open with a quiet exuberance, layered with ripe dark berries cloaked in very fine tightly-knit tannins amid overtones of mushrooms that conferred an illusion of dryness, finishing with decent length and quiet intensity. Quite excellent, perhaps just missing in outright opulence. Tasted April 2019.

2006 Château Angélus. A blend of 47% cabernet franc, 50% merlot and 3% cabernet sauvignon. Deep crimson. Delicious in blueberries, haw and red fruits that exude lovely lift. Suitably weighty. Slightly forward, still quite tightly coiled, exerting refined intensity with a cool tensile presence. Good finish, but it needs another decade of cellaring. Tasted May 2023.

2007 Château Angélus. Lifted expanse of bright red fruits, red currants and raspberries on the nose with overtones of wet heated gravel, showing excellent presence and acidity, oozing sweet gentle tannins with superb linearity, ripeness and layering before settling down with a genteel presence, just a tad short. Very well crafted in spite of the vintage difficulties. Quite excellent on its own, caught at its ideal drinking window. Tasted April 2019.

2007 Château Angélus. Ex-château. Deep crimson. This wine has developed very well in spite of its difficult vintage, proffering delicious red fruits, haw and currants whilst there is a certain refined velvetiness to its tannins, cushioning the fair abundance of fruit that now display early secondary characteristics. Good balance and sophistication. Little wonder that Hubert has professed a special affection for this wine. Tasted May 2023.

2010 Château Angélus. Very deep dark impenetrable red, ingrained with bottomless layers of dense gorgeous ripe blackberries, blueberries and dark currants on both nose and palate, yet to shed its thin veil of vanillin completely. Full with taut tension and sublime acidity, structured with sexy silky tannins with further emergence of mocha and dark chocolate over time. Massively proportioned with controlled sophistication. This must be the younger equivalent of the 2000, perhaps even better. Time will tell but still far from ready. Tasted April 2019.

2010 Château Angélus. Ex-château. Deep crimson. Restrained on the nose though the abundant depth of fruit is clearly evident. The palate is beautifully even, taut with refined intensity and lithe tannins, just a little spicy at the sides. Well-proportioned but evolving at a glacial pace, barely hinting at secondary development. Huge potential ahead but best to lay down for the rest of this decade. Tasted November 2022.

2011 Château Angelus. Ex-château. Expectations are high for any Angélus and this wine doesn’t disappoint, opening with a generous expanse of cool ripe fruits layered with mulberries, dark currants and blackberries, lifted with excellent concentration, fleshing out with fine open intensity within pliant supple tannin structures. Highly elegant and sophisticated. Tasted November 2018.

2011 Château Angelus. Ex-château. Deep impenetrable red. Fabulous concentration of dark plums, black cherries and blueberries on the nose and palate. Very well-extracted, displaying superb ripeness. Big, warm and rounded, densely layered with taut tension from its clean sleek acidity, finishing with traces of licorice. Quite a whopping 14.5% abv. Tasted at the château in June 2019.

2011 Château Angélus. Ex-château. Very deep garnet with a predominance of black fruits and currants. Well-extracted but softly structured. Considerably less layered and firm though there is still plenty of stuffing lurking beneath that obvious sheen of vanillin, displaying good integration with relaxed charm. Tasted May 2023.

2016 Château Angélus. Ex-château. Deep ruby, exuding a copious warmth of ripe raspberries, black fruits and currants that sparkle with rich graphite detail. Wonderfully tense with a cool ripeness, tightly coiled within supple understated tannins that slowly dissipated to yield excellent detail on a subtle minerally base. Modest finish. Highly promising. Tasted May 2023.