Winemaker Notes
Blend: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A brilliant, utterly classic wine, the 2000 Château Angelus is still remarkably youthful, with barely any amber in the glass. Its stunning nose reveals cassis, graphite, flowers, and crushed stone, with a beautiful sense of truffly earth. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, flawlessly layered, and seamless, with wonderful mid-palate depth, largely resolved silky tannins, perfect balance, and a gorgeous finish. It's not a blockbuster in the style of the 2009, but it brings a regal, complex character that has so much to love. Drink bottles over the coming two decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium garnet-brick in color, the 2000 Angélus comes galloping out of the glass with a powerful nose of fragrant earth, damp soil, iron ore and cigar box over a core of prunes, blackberry jam and dried mulberries. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegantly styled with great freshness and loads of earth and mineral-inspired layers, framed by grainy tannins, finishing with a lingering menthol lift. It is in a sweet spot for drinking right now, although it should go on for another 15-20 years. Drink from 2020 - 2040.
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Wine Spectator
This shows some extraction and is very solidly built, as the core plum, black currant and fig paste flavors have flesh and density that unfurl slowly in the glass, but there's energy and freshness to match, thanks to mouthwatering ganache and licorice root notes and brambly tannins. A strong roasted apple wood element gives the finish range and length. A bit of a chest-thumper, but "it ain't bragging if it's true.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.