Château Angélus - St. Emilion 2018 (3000ml)

100 POINTS

James Suckling

This shows beautifully sensibility of generous fruit and soft and velvety tannins with an undertone of chocolate and cedar. Full-bodied, pure and supple with a direct delivery of vibrant fruit and real terroir expression. Savory at the end with hazelnut and crunchy-seed flavors. Reality check here. Incredible fruit quality.

98 POINTS

James Suckling

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.

97 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

“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.

97 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

The 2018 Angélus is blended of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, aged mainly in oak barriques, 100% new, plus two new foudres. Deep garnet-purple in color, it struts flamboyantly out of the glass with stylish scents of black raspberries, boysenberries and Black Forest cake, plus nuances of rose oil, forest floor, dusty soil and cinnamon toast with a hint of cedar chest. The medium to full-bodied palate is carrying a little new oak at this youthful stage, framing the generous red and black fruits along with ripe, plush grape-skin tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and spicy. Give it 5-6 years in cellar for everything to marry, then drink it over the next 20+ years.

97 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

The 2018 Angélus is striking. Cabernet Franc aromatics make a strong first impression. Vibrant and delineated, the 2018 is incredibly refined in every way. The move towards a bit less extraction really seems to let the purity of the fruit come through. The same is true of a reduction of oak. All the elements come together so effortlessly. The 2018 has all the richness readers expect of Angélus, with much more finesse and more overall vibrancy, a combination that works so well.

96 POINTS

Antonio Galloni MW - Vinous

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.

95 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 2018 Angélus was picked from 24 September until 11 October and for the first time is aged in two new foudres (one more on the way) which are designed to limit the impact of wood and oxygen ingress. These are currently being used for the Cabernet Franc, then after a year, the juice is transferred into used oak barrel. Deep in colour, it has a dense bouquet with high-toned black cherry and cassis fruit, touches of dark chocolate and sandalwood. It feels a little unsettling although it has just been racked. The palate is medium-bodied with soft and supple tannins, rounded in the mouth with touches of sea salt and black pepper. It is an intense rather than powerful Angélus. There is a drive towards more elegance at the estate, though perhaps the warmth of the second part of the growing season did not allow them to fully realize this. Still, it is a very fine Angélus that will age with style.

95 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

As I mentioned in my tasting note from barrel, the 2018 Angélus is the first vintage aged in two new foudres . It is very perfumed on the nose, one of the most floral that I can recall at this early stage. Violet and incense aromas percolate through the precise blackberry and cassis fruit, all displaying fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. This is a velvety-smooth Angélus that would drink young if there was not still some oak to be assimilated. Fine balance and focus on the finish, which seems to firm up with continued aeration. This is a charming and quite sophisticated Saint-Émilion that should give 20–30 years of drinking pleasure.