ANGELUS 2018

I loved the 2018 Château Angélus from barrel last year and it blew me away from bottle, epitomizing the new, fresher, more elegant style of the estate while still bringing classic Angélus richness and power. The 2018 is a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in new oak, with a portion of the Cabernet Franc in foudre. A vivid purple color is followed by a vibrant bouquet of blackberries, crème de cassis, crushed violets, spring flowers, and cedar pencil. Beautifully concentrated, full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, it has gorgeous tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and awesome length. I followed this bottle for multiple days and it only improved, picking up additional depth and richness, while never showing a hint of oxidation. Pure perfection, it's going to benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. This is a sensational, magical wine from this talented team, led by winemaker Emmanuelle d'Aligny-Fulchi. Comparing this to the more opulent 2005 and 2009 over the coming decades will be an incredible experience. Tasted 3/11/2021 97-99. The grand vin, the 2018 Angélus, is magical juice in 2018 as well as possibly one of the wines of the vintage. While it shows a slightly more elegant style compared to past great vintages, it doesn’t lack for depth, density or richness. Thrilling notes of crème de cassis, toasted spice, graphite, incense, and tobacco leaf all flow to a full-bodied, powerful Saint-Émilion that has seamless tannins, a stacked mid-palate, no hard edges, and a finish that just won’t quit. Reminding me of an improved 2009, it’s going to be drinkable with just short-term cellaring and keep for 30 years or more. The blend of the 2018 is 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc that will spend 18-22 months in new barrels (and a small portion in foudre as well). Hats off to director Emmanuelle d’Aligny-Fulchi for keeping this estate at the top of the hierarchy in Saint-Émilion!

Very gutsy in feel, with lots of tobacco leaf, loam and espresso notes swirling around a core of steeped black currant and warm fig fruit flavors. The muscular finish is a jumble right now, but there's ample acidity coiled within. A wine that clearly wants to stand out from the pack.

The 2018 Angélus is a fabulous wine from the de Boüard family. Often much more severe when it is young, the 2018 possesses stunning depth and remarkable finesse. I don't think I have tasted a young Angélus with this much finesse. In this vintage, Angélus is 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, which is to say more Merlot and less Franc than in the past, which may or may not represent more of a longer term shift. To be sure, the 2018 is glorious, with generous, pliant fruit and silky tannins that add to its considerable allure. Crème de cassis, new leather, spice and licorice build into the striking finish. What a wine.

Sweet tobacco and black olives with some basil and terra cotta. Violets and dark berries, too. Very fine and linear with freshness and beauty. Full and very tight with beautiful depth. It goes on for a very long time. Best after 2025, but seductive now. July 2022

“This year we have slightly less Cabernet Franc in the blend because we are only using the oldest vines, planted by my grandfather, as a tribute,” Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal said. “These are 60- to 80-year-old Cabernet Franc vines.” From 2018, 10 of the entire Angélus crop will be aged in large oak foudres. “These produce tighter, more perfumed, brighter wines from less oxygen exposure,” Stéphanie commented. The 2018 Angélus is blended of 65 Merlot and 35 Cabernet Franc, to be aged 18-22 months in barriques, 100 new, plus two new foudres. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slips slowly, sensuously out of the glass with beautiful black raspberries, kirsch, warm plums and red roses scents, building in intensity to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, raspberry coulis, black tea, woodsmoke and powdered cinnamon notions with a waft of black olives and charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers a wonderfully profound, multilayered, seamless experience of red and black fruits intertwined with earth, spice and floral notions and framed by exquisitely ripe, satiny tannins, finishing with amazing freshness and length. Incredibly, finely, expertly, seamlessly knit. Stunning.