Chateau Angelus - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2022 (Pre-arrival) (750ml)
Price: $579.99
| Producer | Chateau Angelus |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Saint-Emilion |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Sku | 7755 |
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In the last thirty years, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest has constantly challenged practices and techniques for the benefit of his land and the unique characteristics of the wines grown on it, enabling Château Angelus to be recognised as one of the foremost properties in its appellation area. This recognition has been documented in one classification after another, the last of which awarded Château Angelus the status of Premier Grand Cru Classé "A"
Chateau Angelus Description
The wine exhibits a lively, deep, dense, dark purple colour. The aromas were carefully preserved throughout the vinification process and display a vast array of fresh black fruits and an intensely floral side reminiscent of violets. Smooth and juicy but also delicate and precise on the palate, the wine reveals the hallmark freshness and verticality of the Cabernet Franc. The oak is already well-integrated, allowing crisp, flavoursome ripe fruit to come to the fore. A long and spicy finish, underpinned by silky, tight-knit tannins. The wine’s flavours linger long in the mouth, seemingly never wanting to end. This vintage is rich in salinity and complex and has great tension and freshness. It shows the immense capacity of the Angelus terroirs to adapt to climate adversity.
James Suckling: 99 Points
This is a powerful Angelus, showing incredible depth and intensity as well as tannins that are totally melted into the wine, giving incredible energy for such a young bottle. It makes me think of the great reds of the 1940s or 1950s but with modern precision. Full-bodied but agile, this has endless length, the blackberries and crushed stones, light herbs and dark chocolate showing throughout. Such balance. Al dente. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. So attractive now but will age forever.
Wine Advocate: 98 Points
This estate's shift in the direction of gentler extraction and more reductive, less overtly oaky élevage continues, and this extreme vintage only underlines that. Fermented at cool temperatures (20 to 23 degrees Celsius), and with an increasing proportion of the wine's Cabernet Franc component matured in large wooden foudres, the 2022 Angélus wafts from the glass with deep aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with hints of iris, licorice and pencil lead. Full-bodied, deep and seamless, with a layered core of cool, vibrant fruit, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish, it's a brilliant young wine in the making. The 2022 is a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
Wine Enthusiast: 97 Points
This is a beautifully floral wine featuring ripe black fruits and delicious acidity. It is structured with polished tannins that are deceptively soft, but still offer texture and the ripest blackberry flavors. It is a great wine for long-term aging.
Vinous: 97 Points
The 2022 Angelus is still very contained on the nose, therefore, for this sample, I transferred the wine several times between glasses in order to pry it open. It has a delineated and tensile bouquet, with blackberry, briar and light marine scents percolating through with time. Hints of oyster shell emerge from the limestone soils. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and saline, with gentle grip, fine tannins and a poised, persistent finish. There is a linearity to this Angelus that I appreciate due to the 40% Cabernet Franc. It's very minerally on the aftertaste. This is an excellent Angelus that will age perhaps more slowly than its peers.
