Winemaker Notes
Blend: 62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A total blockbuster is the 2015 Angelus and it’s reminiscent of a slightly more elegant 2009. Made from 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels, this rich, opulent beauty boast killer notes of blackcurrants, blackberry liqueur, truffle, chocolate and scorched earth. With full-bodied richness, building, ripe tannin and a stacked profile on the palate, this hedonistic Bomb of a wine from Hubert de Boüard needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for three decades or more.
Rating: 97+ -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Angélus is a little closed to begin, soon blossoming into a wonderfully fragrant perfume of raspberry preserves, ripe black plums and chocolate-covered cherries with suggestions of Darjeeling tea, candied violets, spice cake and cinnamon stick with a touch of aniseed. Full-bodied, the palate is fabulously opulent, delivering mouth-coating black and red fruit layers with loads of floral sparkles and a seductively velvety texture, finishing with great length and tension. Drink from 2023 - 2050.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is structured, powerful and ripe but also elegant and stylish. Juicy black fruits combine with a dry, structured core to give the wine both its richness and its future. Powered by its fruit and tannins, it has good aging potential. Best after 2027.
Cellar Selection
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Wine Spectator
Dense, dark and muscular, featuring waves of warmed fig, plum and black currant paste that roll in with warm ganache, baker's chocolate and espresso accents. A huge swath of smoldering tobacco is brewing on the finish, which has a brooding feel, thanks to tannins that hit like a thunderclap at the end. If you've got time to wait... Best from 2028 through 2045.
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Decanter
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.
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.