Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A spectacular effort (what’s new?), this brilliant offering from proprietor Hubert de Bouard is another classic. A blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, it boasts an inky/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of creosote, blueberry pie, espresso roast, blackberries, and graphite. Extremely full-bodied and stunningly rich with a multi-layered texture, sweet tannin, and a 45-second finish, this exceptional 2006 is one of the great wines of St.-Emilion. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028.
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Wine Spectator
This has a gorgeous nose of black licorice, black cherry and sage. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a very long finish. There's beautiful texture for the vintage. Enjoy the fruit and richness. Best from 2013 through 2017.
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Wine & Spirits
Distinctly Angelusian in this vintage, this is harmonious, packed with ripe fruit and earthy limestone tannin. The flavors mingle dried fruit and fresh fruit, from red cherries to dates, plums and figs. It's concentrated but not pushed, the flavors feeling complete in a long, structured finish. This should be ready to enjoy at ten years from the vintage, and will continue to develop after that.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
50% Merlot; 47% Cabernet Franc; 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich, optimally ripened and simply loaded with deep, superbly extracted fruit, Angelus outdoes the seeming limits of 2006 and delivers a plush, but beautifully balanced wine of real richness and depth. Its tailored tannins lend just the right sense of spine without truncating the wine's remarkably long flavors, and there seems little question that what is good now will only get better over the next six to ten years.
At the origin of Angelus is an exceptionally well-situated vineyard, at the gates to the village of Saint-Émilion, on the famous south-facing "foot of the slope". Since 1782, over the generations, the passion and determination of the de Boüard de Laforest family have built a destiny worthy of the Estate. At 131 hectares including 62 hectares in Saint-Émilion, of which 31 hectares from the historic heart of the Estate, Angelus is now one of the largest vineyards in the appellation. In 2012, after more than thirty years at the helm of Angelus, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest passed the baton to his daughter, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal. She became the third woman in the family's nearly 250-year history to preside over the destiny of this emblematic Estate, ensuring its legacy continues to thrive. Today, Angelus employs 170 people, produces 8 cuvées and owns restaurants and hotels, in particular, the Logis de la Cadène in Saint-Émilion and Le Gabriel in Bordeaux. In 2023, diversification continued with the creation of La Ferme 1544, forming a link between Château Angelus wine business and its restaurants.
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.