Château Angélus 2018

The aromas are incredibly complex with dark berries, elderberries, bay leaves, cloves and tile, follow through to a full body with layers of creamy and lightly dusty tannins that deliver a lingering finish and great attention to detail. The flavors range from black fruit to earth and stones. It’s reserved and poised with great intensity and power, in a toned and formed mode. One for the cellar. Try after 2026.

This is rich and complex from the very first nose, showing dense brambled fruit with real precision of expression. After a few minutes the aromatics explode, leaping out of the glass and giving an extra level of enjoyment to the wine. In the mouth, lovely vibrant tannins grip without any sense of urgency, joined by curls of woodsmoke and salt taffy through the finish. It's gorgeous and will make you smile with its mouthwatering finish. Only the oldest Cabernet Francs, aged between 60 and 80 years, went into the grand vin in 2018, meaning a little less Cabernet Franc in the blend than usual. But these old vines, planted by Stephanie de Boüard's grandfather, are rich in flavour and give saline emphasis to the finish. It's the first year that they have worked entirely organically, with a 32hl/ha yield from the harvest, which ran from 24 September to 11 October. A cold soak before fermentation was used to extract the colour and fruit flavours without too much tannin. The wine is aged in 100% oak barrels and, for the first time, a few amphorae. - Jane Anson

Couleur sombre, intense et belle. Nez intense, fin, fruité, pur, mûr, qui n'a jamais été aussi subtil. Profond. Délicat à l'attaque, fondant au développement, très aromatique et minutieux dans son toucher comme je ne l'ai jamais vu, ce vin savoureux grandit en finale pour s'achever très long, complexe et noble. Longueur formidable. C'est très bon et d'un style nouveau, plus aérien, beaucoup moins appuyé par le tannin en finale; Assemblage : 65 % merlot, 35 % cabernet franc.

Angelus 2018 offenbart sich langsam. Sein Bouquet gewinnt im Laufe der Minuten an Komplexität und Intensität, und der Ausdruck des Cabernet Franc (35%) wird deutlich. Angenehme florale Nuancen, gefolgt von Brombeeren und Süßholz. Jede Menge Frische. Dicht, aber auch saftig am Gaumen. Da sind Tiefe, Fülle, Saft und Finesse vorhanden. Angelus wurde manchmal vorgeworfen, “bling-bling” zu sein, daher erlaube ich mir hier, seine kraftvolle und rassige Seite oder “bäng-bäng” in dekodierter Sprache hervorzuheben; ich würde sagen, dass er ordentlich für “Action” sorgt. 2024-2045.