CHÂTEAU ANGÉLUS
2021 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
Angelus is a wine that really captured our imaginations in 2021 - far more perhaps than in the recent highly-prized trio of years. Showing a line of brightness and lifted purity that we love - it adds a glorious tension and energy to the super core of well ripened fruit. Sweet plum, ripe red cherry and then blue floral notes too. Packed with charm - but never sliding into over-richness. A wine that speaks of the vintage - for our minds the cool summer and troubled merlot has resulted in an Angelus with real flair and class in 2021. With highest ever proportion of Cabernet Franc this year too (60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot) it is an Angelus that really shines. L&S (Apr 2022)
* 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.
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)
A brilliant wine that signposts this estate's evolution under Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, the 2021 Angélus is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, with fully half of the old-vine Cabernet Franc maturing in foudres rather than 225-liter barriques. The result is a wine of unprecedented purity and finesse, unwinding in the glass with compelling aromas of plums, raspberries, rose petals, vine smoke, blood orange and warm spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate with a rich and fleshy core that entirely conceals its structuring chassis of ultra-refined tannins. Bright and sapid, it's striking for its integration and elegance at this early stage, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it upstage a number of more touted vintages once it's in bottle. Rating: 94-96+ William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (May 2022)
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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2027. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2027. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.