Angelus
Stephanie Rivoal-de Bouard has been managing Angelus since 2012.
Mini vertical of Grand Vin in five vintages at the property in November 2021
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2023 (barrel sample) 98p
Tasted in April 2024. 60% Merlot + 40% Cabernet Franc. 14.5% alcohol. On the nose, there are intense morello cherries and raspberries, while on the palate, it's elegant and plush, with a strong backbone, great complexity, sophisticated touch, and finesse. It has a great mid-palate and long aftertaste. This is stupendous stuff.
2022 (barrel sample) 98-99p
Tasted in April 2023. 60% Merlot + 40% C. Franc. 14.5% alcohol. Fresh, floral with roses, morello cherries, crushed rocks, mineral, elegant, strong backbone, great complexity and length, sophisticated, and multilayered. Great mid-palate and long aftertaste. Stephanie Rivoal-de Bouard, the present director/manager, has transformed this property into incredibly refined and intellectual wine in recent vintages. Stunning quality.
2021 96p
Tasted twice - last time in April 2024. Consistent notes. 60% C. Franc + 40% Merlot. The blend is historic as it's the first time with that high percentage of C. Franc, which ripened excellently. Fresh, morello cherries, crushed rocks, mineral, elegant, with strong backbone, great complexity and length, a splendid midpalate, and a persistent aftertaste.
2020 98-99p
Tasted three times - last time in April 2023. Consistent notes. 60% Merlot + 40% C. Franc. 14.5% alcohol. Several specially selected C. Franc plots for Grand Vin were aging in so-called foudres, with a volume of 30 hl each, to preserve the subtlety of this grape variety. Freshness, intense black cherries, and bright acidity. Spectacular elegance and sophisticated touch. This wine oozed with great precision, flowing midpalate and length! Breathtaking quality.
2019 98-99p
Tasted in November 2021. 60% Merlot + 40% C. Franc, 14.5% alcohol. This wine mixes 2020 and 2018 vintages: 2020's elegance, finesse, and sophisticated touch combined with 2018's intensity and concentration. A beautifully aromatic nose, silky berries, tannin, great complexity, and length made this wine irresistible!
2018 98+p
Tasted twice - last time in November 2021. Not consistent notes. 65% Merlot + 35% C. Franc, 14.5% alcohol. When Stephanie de Bouard-Rivoal, daughter of Hubert de Bouard, took over winemaking duties in the 2015 vintage, she aimed to change the style of Angelus, which her father practiced. She wanted to reduce the amount of new oak used in the vinification, obtain more freshness, and make more delicate and grained tannins. In a ZOOM interview with me in mid-December 2020, she felt she succeeded pretty well with this style change in the 2018 vintage. When I tasted bottled Angelus 2018 in December 2020 at my home, it was a sublime, sophisticated, and incredibly complex wine. It's an imposing effort, for sure! It was equally stunning when it tasted again at the property in November 2021!
2017 97p
Tasted in November 2021. 70% Merlot + 30% C. Franc, 14% alcohol. 30% less produced because of frost in the spring. It displayed fragrant cherries and raspberries, milk chocolate, and cocoa powder. It was lighter in intensity and concentration, and there was more elegance and finesse here than in 2015 and 2016. It's an excellent effort for the vintage.
2016 97p
Tasted in November 2021. 60% Merlot + 40% C. Franc, 14.5% alcohol. It is quite similar to 2015 in terms of concentration and upfront fruitiness. It felt alcoholic on the nose, with morello cherries and an excellently structured palate with lush berries and fine tannins. It's more elegant and has more finesse than in 2015. Eminent wine.
2015 96-97p
Tasted in November 2021. 62% Merlot + 38% C. Franc. Flamboyant and concentrated wine with great depth, complexity, and length. Silky texture, velvety tannin, and luscious fruit. This wine had a slight sensation of extended extraction and big ripeness, but it didn't make the overall excellent quality picture less or smaller.
2001 94p
Tasted three times - last time in April 2007. Consistent notes. Big extract, modern style, ripe and aromatic fruit, and long aftertaste. This wine is a big success for the vintage.
2000 99p
I had the pleasure of tasting this wine during lunch in April 2024 at Logis de la Cadenne with Léa Bodin and Benjamin Laforet from Angelus. It was a wonderful example of how the vintage has developed. This bottle was genuinely spectacular and timeless.
1990 96p
Tasted twice - last time in December 2016. Consistent notes. Truffles present in a very distinguished nose with intense flavors, several layers on the palate, and great length and structure. It is a formidable wine with many years to go.
1989 97p
Tasted in December 2006. Fabulous stuff with black cherries and truffles. It has great complexity, structure, luscious berries, stunning balance, and a long, soft, sweet finish. It was an excellent performance!