The Wine Cellar Insider (98-100)

Deeply colored, the wine is all about its elegance in the texture. The fruits offer a level of purity and refinement that was not present in older vintages. Perfectly balanced, vibrant, long and intense, the wine is incredibly sensuous, velvety, and silky. The level of concentration remains, but the sensation here is now one of sensuality, balance, and sophistication. The silky, pure, red and black pit fruits with a cool touch of orange rind remain with you for close to 60 seconds. Fermentation at cooler temperatures and no sulfur during the fermentations helped maintain the wines elegance and purity. The wine blends 60% Merlot, and 40% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV, 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place, September 6 - September 28.

The Wine Cellar Insider (98-100)

Deeply colored, the wine is all about its elegance in the texture. The fruits offer a level of purity and refinement that was not present in older vintages. Perfectly balanced, vibrant, long and intense, the wine is incredibly sensuous, velvety, and silky. The level of concentration remains, but the sensation here is now one of sensuality, balance, and sophistication. The silky, pure, red and black pit fruits with a cool touch of orange rind remain with you for close to 60 seconds. Fermentation at cooler temperatures and no sulfur during the fermentations helped maintain the wines elegance and purity. The wine blends 60% Merlot, and 40% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV, 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place, September 6 - September 28.

The Wine Cellar Insider (98-100)

Deeply colored, the wine is all about its elegance in the texture. The fruits offer a level of purity and refinement that was not present in older vintages. Perfectly balanced, vibrant, long and intense, the wine is incredibly sensuous, velvety, and silky. The level of concentration remains, but the sensation here is now one of sensuality, balance, and sophistication. The silky, pure, red and black pit fruits with a cool touch of orange rind remain with you for close to 60 seconds. Fermentation at cooler temperatures and no sulfur during the fermentations helped maintain the wines elegance and purity. The wine blends 60% Merlot, and 40% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV, 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place, September 6 - September 28.

The Wine Cellar Insider (98-100)

Deeply colored, the wine is all about its elegance in the texture. The fruits offer a level of purity and refinement that was not present in older vintages. Perfectly balanced, vibrant, long and intense, the wine is incredibly sensuous, velvety, and silky. The level of concentration remains, but the sensation here is now one of sensuality, balance, and sophistication. The silky, pure, red and black pit fruits with a cool touch of orange rind remain with you for close to 60 seconds. Fermentation at cooler temperatures and no sulfur during the fermentations helped maintain the wines elegance and purity. The wine blends 60% Merlot, and 40% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% ABV, 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place, September 6 - September 28.

James Suckling (97-98)

The transparency of fruit and the finesse is really something here. There’s depth and beauty to the pristine, fresh fruit. Full-bodied and muscular with wonderful tannins that provide tension and form. Subtle and weightless, this is a thought-provoking young wine. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc.

James Suckling (97-98)

The transparency of fruit and the finesse is really something here. There’s depth and beauty to the pristine, fresh fruit. Full-bodied and muscular with wonderful tannins that provide tension and form. Subtle and weightless, this is a thought-provoking young wine. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc.

Wine Advocate (100)

This is the first release of this new 100% Cabernet Franc wine from Chateau Angélus. Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Hommage à Elisabeth Bouchet hits the ground running with an intense, profound nose of blackberry preserves, boysenberries and redcurrant jelly, plus suggestions of beef drippings, black olives, damp soil and unsmoked cigars with wafts of pencil lead and truffles. The full-bodied palate bursts with vibrant, shimmery black and red fruits, inlaid with mineral accents and supported by firm, exquisitely ripe and finely grained tannins. Electric sparks of bright acidity course through the densely packed core, delivering incredible energy and freshness to the finish, leaving you wanting more. That this estate has managed to craft such a complete, jaw-dropping beauty entirely from Cabernet Franc is a triumph and, I hope, not the last of its kind. A masterpiece!

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Only the second release of this cuvée (it was first produced in 2016 and will be produced in 2019 as well), the 2018 Château Angelus Hommage A Elisabeth Bouchet is 100% Cabernet Franc coming from a single parcel of vines averaging between 60-80 years in age. It was vinified in stainless steel and the aging spanned 18 months in new French oak. It's another magical wine from this château that somehow manages to marry serious power and richness with a sense of purity and elegance, as well as complexity, that's something to behold. Deep purple-hued, it offers a sensational array of blackcurrant and cassis fruits intermixed with truffle, spring flowers, and a subtle meaty, baking spice character that develops with time in the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it's flawlessly balanced, has ultra-fine tannins, and an expansive, seamless, heavenly mouthfeel. Everything is in the right place, and it has perfectly integrated oak along with a gorgeous finish. There are just 849 bottles produced, with a few larger formats, so I expect this to be just about impossible to find in the marketplace (nor will it be cheap), but it's as fine a Saint-Emilion as has ever been made. It needs a decade of cellaring, and I suspect it will have 40-50 years of overall longevity.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Only the second release of this cuvée (it was first produced in 2016 and will be produced in 2019 as well), the 2018 Château Angelus Hommage A Elisabeth Bouchet is 100% Cabernet Franc coming from a single parcel of vines averaging between 60-80 years in age. It was vinified in stainless steel and the aging spanned 18 months in new French oak. It's another magical wine from this château that somehow manages to marry serious power and richness with a sense of purity and elegance, as well as complexity, that's something to behold. Deep purple-hued, it offers a sensational array of blackcurrant and cassis fruits intermixed with truffle, spring flowers, and a subtle meaty, baking spice character that develops with time in the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it's flawlessly balanced, has ultra-fine tannins, and an expansive, seamless, heavenly mouthfeel. Everything is in the right place, and it has perfectly integrated oak along with a gorgeous finish. There are just 849 bottles produced, with a few larger formats, so I expect this to be just about impossible to find in the marketplace (nor will it be cheap), but it's as fine a Saint-Emilion as has ever been made. It needs a decade of cellaring, and I suspect it will have 40-50 years of overall longevity.

Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (86-89)

Medium ruby. Spicy aromas of cassis and bitter chocolate. Rather rigid and uncompromising today but there's good density here and firm underlying structure. The bones are showing now but this firmly tannic wine shows very good persistence. This should benefit substantially from its elevage.

Wine Advocate (90)

A sleeper of the vintage, this 2005 seems to be close to its plateau of maturity. It exhibits a dense ruby/plum/purple color, wonderfully sweet and silky tannins, loads of blackcurrant and floral-infused fruit, medium body and a long, layered, elegant and pure personality. It is drinking quite well and exhibiting no reason to extend its aging. This wine should continue to offer gorgeous and good-value drinking for another decade.

Wine Enthusiast (92)

91-93 A very complete wine, packed with just the right level of tannins and with the sweet plum fruit pushing through to give richness to the acidity.

Decanter (90)

Big earthy fruit though a touch leathery, with old vines evident in structure and depth. A serious wine on the masculine side of Margaux.

James Suckling (91-92)

A dense, layered red with chocolate, hazelnut and redcurrants. It’s medium-to full-bodied. Chewy tannins at the end.

Vinous - Neal Martin (91)

The 2020 Château Angludet is the product of a crop that suffered frost damage earlier in the season with a reduced percentage of Merlot. It has a lovely nose, maybe not quite as "brisk" as I described out of barrel, yet harmonious with those appealing black fruit laced with iris flower and violet. The palate is medium-bodied, the 30% aging in amphora imparting the spiciness, the liberal dose of black pepper towards the still gritty finish. Lovely length, lovely Margaux, lovely d'Angludet.

Jancis Robinson (16)

Mid crimson. Rather alluring ripe nose. Very soft and round. Not a long-distance runner but a true Margaux-style wine for early drinking. There’s even a hint of an ethereal quality about this.

Experience the exquisite taste of Angludet 2023, a testament to the superb winemaking skills of the Sichel family. This exceptional vintage is grown on the left bank of Bordeaux, nurtured within the Margaux appellation, amidst a natural amphitheatre of 32 hectares of vineyards. The soil, a precise blend of gravel, sand, and clay, creates an optimum environment for the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot grapes, ensuring a wine of distinct character.

Crafted in the tradition of the best Bordeaux wines, Angludet 2023 undergoes meticulous tending, manual harvesting, and careful ageing in French oak barrels. The result is a remarkable wine, full-bodied and richly complex in flavour, with notable tannin structure and an elegant finish. Expect nuances of blackcurrant, cherry, and herbs on the palate, underscored by subtle cigar box spiciness.

The Angludet 2023 is no ordinary quaff. It is an indulgence in the authentic French heritage of viticulture, speaking volumes of the fine art of winemaking.

Decanter (97)

The vines of Belair-Monange are split between limestone on the plateau and clay limestone on the slopes. This is a stand-out wine, poised and silky but still in the Moueix muscular house style in 2015. Tannins are fully present and fully committed. In the glass, the floral side opens up, and there's impressive salinity on the finish where you can practically lick the limestone. Excellent; one to put away for eight to ten years.

Decanter (97)

The vines of Belair-Monange are split between limestone on the plateau and clay limestone on the slopes. This is a stand-out wine, poised and silky but still in the Moueix muscular house style in 2015. Tannins are fully present and fully committed. In the glass, the floral side opens up, and there's impressive salinity on the finish where you can practically lick the limestone. Excellent; one to put away for eight to ten years.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (90)

The 2019 Annonce de Bélair-Monange is the second wine of the château. It offers up succulent dark cherry fruit, spice and dried flowers, along with veins of saline minerality that give the wine its shape and energy. The combination of fruit and vibrancy is quite appealing. Although Annonce is a second wine, its persistence and class are undeniably top notch.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (90)

The 2019 Annonce de Bélair-Monange is the second wine of the château. It offers up succulent dark cherry fruit, spice and dried flowers, along with veins of saline minerality that give the wine its shape and energy. The combination of fruit and vibrancy is quite appealing. Although Annonce is a second wine, its persistence and class are undeniably top notch.