CHÂTEAU ANGÉLUS
2015 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
More oak evident than on the Carillon, but a greater weight of fruit too, with even finer tannins which have greater intensity. There's huge extract here, but it's all handled very well, with a freshness despite the all the thickness and black density - a cool soy concentration, and very long. There's no doubt that it's a style, nor that there is a mass of tannin, but the total effect is of a wine which will take it's time but seems in overall balance. Rating: 93-94 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
A great wine with superb concentration and richness. yet it's ever so agile and polished. Spices, blueberries, cinnamon and dried flowers. Full body and polished and full tannins. Great length. The refinement to the tannins is amazing. Compacted. Essence-like. Needs five or six years to open. Drinking range: 2025 - Rating: 99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
Higher in alcohol than the 2014, but much more refined, this is a wine that’s made to last, showing plenty of oak and abundant fruit flavours supported by acidity and filigree tannins. Complex, spicy and aromatic, with lovely barrel integration and a poised, full-bodied finish. One of the best Angélus of recent years. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 96 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2016)
62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc. First year Stéphanie de Boüard was in charge with father Hubert at her side. Extremely dark purplish crimson. Light nose but masses of sweet concentration on the palate. Nothing exaggerated. Just rather drying tannins on the end at the moment. Like Carillon d'Angélus, it has a slight bitterness on the finish but has clearly been made with no shortage of ambition. For the long term. Drinking range: 2027 - 2040 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc. Rich and brooding on the nose with a hint of spicy fragrance. Powerful tannic frame but the tannins are fine and polished. Great depth and structure. Suave texture for such a big wine. Balancing freshness on the finish. Will need time. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 95 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Angelus is a blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, picked from 22 September finishing on 14 October. "We found a nice homogeneity with the Merlot lots," I was told when I visited. "The old Cabernet Franc was very nice, but the younger vines were blended into the second label. This year, it is especially the Merlot that lends a lot of harmony to the wine. This year, the Merlot have some of the qualities of the Cabernet Franc, the precision and freshness. They give the generosity and sweetness." The wine was aged in 100% new oak at 11 degrees Celsius so they could add less sulfur to keep the freshness of the aromas and maintain the elegance of the wine. It offers a complex array of aromas such as black cherry, camphor, oyster shells and Japanese nori, beautifully defined and very focused. The palate is medium-bodied but powerful with layer of svelte tannins and a keen thread of acidity; layers of black fruit laced with spices, baking powder, mint and white pepper. It feels long in the mouth, insistently clinging for a minute after the wine has departed. Oh là là. This is a sexy, but compelling Angelus, fit for "007" and wine-lovers everywhere. Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
In 2015, Angélus is 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc. It is also one of the most powerful, vertical wines of the vintage. A rush of sweet floral and spice notes appear first, before waves of intense, inky/purplish fruit take hold of all the senses. The tannins need time to soften, probably quite a bit of time, but there is no denying the wine's sheer beauty. I came back to the 2015 several hours later and found a wine that had blossomed beautifully with air. The 2015 will be magnificent once the tannins soften. Readers will have to be patient, as that is likely to take a decade-plus to happen. Rating: 94-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
The Merlot, which still dominates the blend here at 62%, was picked from September 22nd. Cabernet Franc now accounts for almost half the vineyard at Angélus, but here in the grand vin it makes up 38% of the assemblage, and was picked from October 8th. The alcohol, modest for the vintage at 14.2%, reflects this significant percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend. This barrel sample has a fascinating, very dark fruit character to the nose, richly spiced and suggesting smoky, pencil-fine dark fruits, substantial and concentrated, but tightly drawn, with a touch of new oak barrel. The palate shows this same character, but here it unfolds to show texture and more generosity, even through the fruit it carries is still dark, toasted, with black cherry skins, brooding rather than perfumed. The structure is ripe, polished, with a defined grip of ripe tannins. The overall appeal of the wine comes in its very taut, very tense, fresh and composed showing, and underneath the spicy barrel notes the raw material is very serious indeed. The tannins feel plush and supremely ripe in keeping with the vintage, although there is a very slight drying twist to them at the finish. A great Angélus in the making here. Rating: 18-19/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
This shows the purity of Angelus. I have never tasted a wine from here with such incredible clarity. Full body, full fruit and full beauty. Super silky tannins. A joy to taste. Makes you want to drink it. 62% merlot and 38% cabernet franc. Rating: 99-100 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)
Château Angélus
The name Angélus supposedly derives from that of a particular vineyard where devout winemakers could hear the Angélus bell tolling from all the town’s churches.
The estate was brought by the present owner’s great-grandfather, Comte Maurice de Boüard, in 1921. He also owned another property Château Mazerat, and after World War II his sons united the two estates under its present name.
The next generation took over in the form of the dynamic Hubert de Boüard, a graduate oenologist from Bordeaux university, in 1985. Hubert felt that the Château was underperforming, and he has worked hard since to re-energise the property, aided by his cousin Jean-Bernard Grenié. Their commitment and investment was rewarded in 1996, when the Château was promoted to a Premier Grand Cru Classé.
Hubert's daughter, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, joined the team in 2012, and his nephew, Thierry Grenié de Boüard in 2016. Together they represent the eighth generation of the family to run Angélus.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.