Château Angelus 2019

2019 Angelus 98-99p
Tasted in November 2021. 60% Merlot + 40% C. Franc, 14.5% alcohol. I would say this wine is a mix of 2020 and 2018 vintages. 2020s elegance, finesse and sophisticated touch combined with 2018's intensity and concentration. Beautifully scented nose, silky berries and tannin, great complexity and great length made this wine quite irresistible! 

An extremely refined and sharpened Angelus with super fine tannins and sweet ripe fruit in the center palate. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and so very polished. Silky. Very subtle. Bright blue fruit, black fruit and stones. Supple and minerally. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc.

A brilliant, intense, almost dark purple colour. The cornerstone on which this vintage is built is its great aromatic purity. Black fruit and wild cherry notes come bursting to the fore, while the oak is already completely integrated. The attack on the palate is suave, while the smooth, round and enve-loping tannins are cashmere-like in texture. The finish, thanks to the homogenously high quality of the Cabernet Franc, displays notes of spice and menthol, together with lovely freshness and tension. This wine is the mirror-image of the Angélus terroir: chiselled and precise. It also offers immediate tasting appeal, which complements well the wine's elegant style. This is a wine that will go down as one of the great Angélus vintages.

Harvest: 18th September to 9th October
Blend: 60 % Merlot, 40 % Cabernet Franc

The 2019 Angélus is absolutely brilliant. Rich and driving in intensity, yet also light on its feet for such a big wine, Angélus has a ton to offer in 2019. Red/purplish fruit licorice, new leather, cinnamon, grilled herbs and lavender add striking layers of character nuance. The 2019 is super-elegant and precise, but with all of the textural richness readers have come to expect from Angélus. The blend is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, with the Franc quite expressive, especially in the wine's aromatic profile. One of the recent developments has been a move towards a greater use of cask for the Franc, an approach that has so far paid off handsomely.

Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal described 2019 as a year marked by an alternation of hot days and cool nights, with the most severe heat in June. PHs were lower across the board than in 2018. I was especially impressed by the No. 3 de Angélus and Le Carillon d'Angélus, which seem to benefit from the strong year and a new winemaking facility dedicated to their production. As for the Grand Vin, well it is truly Grand.