2023 Chateau Angelus

2023 Chateau Angelus [EP2023]

JS 97-98

^S$453⁹⁹

ETA: 2026

Vintage: 2023

Region: Bordeaux

Country: France

Winemaker Notes

Bright purple in color and particularly intense. The aromas and typical character of this vintage have been conserved from picking through to running off. The nose is bursting with flowers and black fruit to start, becoming more complex and broader with aeration leading to graphite notes and subtly mentholated nuances. The palate, with its clean, energetic attack, is built on a framework of spicy Cabernet Franc and superbly integrated oak, discreetly present in support of a wine that is already great. The length on the palate is carried by the freshness, acidity and ethereal tannins that characterise this vintage, full of tension and great elegance.

Blend: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc

About Winery

The vineyard of Chateau Angélus is situated in a natural amphitheatre overlooked by the three Saint-Emilion churches. In the middle of this special site, the sounds were amplified and the angelus bells could be heard ringing in the morning, at midday and in the evening. They cadenced the working day in the vineyards and villages, calling the men and women to stop their labours for a few minutes and pray.

Less than a kilometre from the famous Saint-Emilion bell tower, situated on the much-vaunted south-facing “foot of the hill”, Angélus has been the life work of eight generations of the Boüard de Laforest family.

In the first-ever classification of Saint-Emilion wines in 1954, Chateau Angélus was a Grand Cru Classé. Already at the time, it benefitted from a solid reputation, which helped it survive the Bordeaux wine crisis of 1973 and take part in the oenological renewal of the 1980’s. This was the context in which Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, a graduate oenologist from Bordeaux University, took advantage of this marvellous wine’s illustrious past, while being resolutely turned towards the future and launched and continued to implement an ambitious, innovative policy in favour of achieving excellence in wine growing and making.

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Per unit $453.99; Buy 3 or More $1361.99; Buy 6 or More $2723.99

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Expert Review

Château Angélus, until 1990 known as Château L'Angélus, or simply L'Angélus, is a winery in the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the appellation of Saint-Émilion. The estate was formerly highly ranked in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine, being promoted to Premier grand cru classé in 1996, then Premier grand cru classé (A) in 2012, before withdrawing from the classification in 2021.

The château also produces a second wine named Carillon d’Angélus (since 1987) and a third wine, No. 3 d’Angélus. A fourth label was announced in 2022 called Tempo d’Angélus which is a Bordeaux AOP wine from plots of land acquired in the Côtes de Bordeaux Castillon area to the east of Saint-Émilion in 2017, though the wine is labeled as Bordeaux AOP.

The estate has been owned by the Boüard de Laforest family since the Domaine de Mazerat was bequeathed to Comte Maurice de Boüard de Laforest in 1910, and expanded by the acquisition of Clos de L'Angélus in 1922 by Elisabeth Bouchet his wife and a plot from Château Beau-Séjour Bécot in 1969. The name refers to the three Angelus bells audible from the vineyards, coming from the chapel at Mazerat, the church in Saint-Martin de Mazerat, and Saint-Émilion.

Then named L'Angélus presentation card dated 1931, demonstrating the designs of the early 20th century, the label, cork, case and capsule markings. Hubert de Boüard de Laforest joined the family business at Angélus in 1976 having concluded studies under Émile Peynaud at the Faculté d'Oenologie in Bordeaux. Along with several modernizing changes, the practice of maturing in new oak was begun in 1980.

The estate was not included in the 2022 classification, having withdrawn in early 2022.[5] It was previously classified as a Premier grand cru cru classé (A) in 2012, previously a Premier grand cru cru classé (B) since 1996, and was before that classified as Grand cru classé.

But according to research of journalist Isabelle Saporta, Hubert de Boüard is judge and jury in the preparation of the classification.[7][8] In 2018, the co-owner Hubert de Bouard has been charged with seeking to unfairly influence the outcome of the coveted Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé rankings in his favour.

Angélus is currently managed by Hubert de Boüard, with the consultancy of the oenologist Michel Rolland.

James Suckling 97-98 pts

"The transparency of fruit and the finesse is really something here. There’s depth and beauty to the pristine, fresh fruit. Full-bodied and muscular with wonderful tannins that provide tension and form. Subtle and weightless, this is a thought-provoking young wine. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc."

Wine Advocate 95-97 pts

"Gorgeous nose, floral and scented with roses and violets, expressive strawberries and raspberries and some herbal elements. Full and filling, but soft and smooth, almost crushed velvet in texture. It’s not so tense and straight but has a solid backbone of freshness and plush fruit but very cool. It’s more on the structured side than overt acidity, serious but still with crunchy blueberries, chalky blackcurrant, lots of graphite and minerality on the finish. Less fruit forward than some but layered with complexity - a subtle opulence. Fleshy ripe tannins with mouthwatering acidity adding a serious touch. It’s missing that Angelus hug on the mid palate, but I like it a lot and you can’t fault the refinement and precision on show. It’s got body, length, tannins, crunch, freshness, and a vein of minerality underpinning the expression"