CHÂTEAU ANGÉLUS

This is well textured, plush raspberry and damson fruits, a sleight of hand that turns the high acidities into mouth-watering juice, with waves of graphite, pencil lead, saffron, smoked caramel and cigar box. The highest amount of Cabernet Franc on record at Angélus, largely because so much Merlot was lost to mildew. First full vintage where Benjamin Laforet is technical director, working alongside Hubert de Bouard. It's serious, takes its time to open, far less exuberant than the past few vintages at Angélus but classy and with presence. They are labelling this Premier Grand Cru Classé A, despite withdrawing from the 2022 classification when the selection process was already underway, and underlines why it's a loss to the ranking not to have Angélus within in. 23hl/h yield, no chaptilisation on the 1st wine, 100% new oak barrels + 30hl oak casks for the Cabernet Franc. Drinking range: 2027 - 2042 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2022)

60 Cabernet Franc, 40 Merlot | 100% new oak with some 30hl foudres for some of the Cabernet Franc. This wine marks a first in the history of Angélus – a mighty 60% of Cabernet Franc is involved in this blend! Building on the second wine Carillon, and growing the experience in all directions without adding any more weight per se, this is a much more complex and restrained wine and a superb reflection of the Angélus terroir and the precision viticulture deployed in 2021. Of course, winemaking decisions were crucial in 2021, but this is a viti-vintage for Angélus. When one buys fine wine and then looks after it for a couple of decades, it must reflect its origins otherwise, it could conceivably come from anywhere – vinonymous. This wine is Angélus – pure, direct, focussed, resonant, and it is also packed with 42 matthewjukes.com 2021 grace and tenderness. It is a resounding success in 2021, not just for what it exhibits in the glass but for what it wisely leaves out. Rating: 18.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2022)

Composed of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, the 2021 Angelus is deep garnet-purple in color. Slightly closed to begin, considerable coaxing reveals scents of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and fresh blackberries with suggestions of crushed rocks, tar, truffles, and violets. Medium-bodied, the palate has fantastic intensity and energy, with very finely pixelated tannins and wonderful tension, finishing on a persistent ferrous note.
“2021 was quite difficult because of climatic conditions,” said Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal. “During the summer, I did not imagine we would not be able to produce such a wine. This year we have an unprecedented proportion of Cabernet Franc. Usually, it is about 40%, and this year it is 60%. We managed to have full ripeness for the Cabernet Franc. As you know, I love the foudres, and we continue with these. This way, the wood can be completely integrated into the fruit. We resisted the mildew well, but the yields were lower. There was no chaptalization on the Angélus, but there is some on the No 3 label. We performed saignée on the blocks with the deepest clay but not on the free-draining soil plots. Our pH is a bit high at the end because we harvested with more malic acid than usual.”
“The mildew actually did us a favor to lower the yields in order to ripen this crop in the cooler vintage,” mentioned Benjamin Laforet, Technical Director at Château Angélus.
“In July, we were worried that we might not be able to make an Angélus. The guys never left their tractors this year. The amount of work was unbelievable. We have the tools to fight frost, hail, and mildew, but sometimes you forget that you cannot fight against nature.
We began picking the Merlot on the 20th of September and finished the Cabernet Franc on the 15th of October. By the end of harvest, we were considering where we could plant more Cabernet Franc.”l Drinking range: 2027 - 2050 Rating: 94-96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (May 2022)