x
  • Country ranking ?

    1 028
  • Producer ranking ?

    19
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2040
  • Food Pairing

    roasted game with mushrooms

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Wine Spectator 97 points 

Out of this world. Incredible aromas of crushed blackberries and cherries, with wet earth, mineral and mint. Full-bodied, with fantastically refined, silky tannins and a long, long finish. Terrific. Greatest Angelus I have ever tasted. Best after 2010. 7,080 cases made. –JS WS

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The Story

Château Angelus is one of the largest and most prestigious St-Emilion estates and was promoted to1er grand cru classé status in the 1996 St-Emilion reclassification. Since 2012 ranked Premier grand cru classé (A) in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. Passionately managed for over four generations, Angelus is owned and run by two cousins, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, andJean-Bernard Grenie and is located in the centre-west of the St-Emilion appellation, due west of St-Emilion town.

 Chateau Angelus, which has been making wine in St-Emilion for almost 250 years, is still considered "new" for that appellation. It was founded by, and has always been run by, the de Bouard family. The name "Angelus" means the ringing of bells to commemorate a catholic devotion, and the workers in the Chateau Angelus vineyards can hear the bells ringing from three nearby churches...thus how the winery got its name. Although the quality of the wine has had some rough years, the quality of the terroir is one of the best in St-Emilion. And with some key education and talent emerging from the de Bouard family in the past 40 years, the winery is now realizing its potential and has rocketed to one of the top, most sought-after labels in the region. A blend of the merlot and cab franc, from perfectly balanced soils of limestone and clay, the real Cindarella story of Chateau Angelus in not the world class terroir or fruit, but of the winemaking practices that have been put in place over the past 40 years. Hubert de Boüard de Laforest joined the family business at Angélus in 1976 and proceeded to make several modernizing changes to the vinification that allows him more control over the quality. Under his management, and the consultancy of oenologist Michel Rolland, the estate has been consistently moving up in its classifications, eventually attaining Premier grand cru classe A in 2012. The style of Chateau Angelus is lush, dense and creamy, but also elegant, classy and pure with lots of freshness. There is a second wine, called Le Carillon d’Angélus, and a third wine, called No. 3 d’Angélus. You can see the bell, the Angelus, represented in the Chateau's label, cork, case and capsule markings, as well as in the elaborate sculpture that installed in the back of the main building. It makes it easy for you to imagine being transported to this majestic Bordeaux vineyard, hearing the bells ringing, smelling the sweet grapes, and feeling the sun warming you and the soil under your feet.

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Wine Information

The vineyard
Surface area : 23.4 hectares (58 acres) in one single block

Situation : On the south-facing slope of Saint-Emilion, on the famous “pied de côte” (foot of the slope)

Soils :Clay-limestone in the high part, clay-sand-limestone on the hillside slopes.

Density of plantation :
6,500 to 7,500 plants per hectare

Grape varieties : 50% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon

Average age of the vines :30 years

Pruning technique :“Girondine”, leaving two canes

Vineyard management : Vines are grown in the traditional manner. Some of the rows are seeded with grass. Debudding, then crop thinning in summer

Harvesting : 100% by hand. The grapes are sorted on the vine and on three sorting tables at the cellar

De-stemming :100%

Annual crop yield : 30 to 35 hectolitres per hectare

2000
The picking stretched out from September the 14th to the 27th in weather conditions that allowed us to harvest wholly in accordance with the criteria of grape ripeness, sugar levels and acidity.

The Merlot showed dazzling fruit characters, unctuosity and balance and was blended with
Cabernet Franc that was slightly over-ripe.
The wines have a blackish-purple colour and exhibit aromas of blackberries, plums and
blackcurrants with delicate smoky notes and liquorice.

There is volume on the palate, phenomenal concentration and a magnificent tannic structure. The balance between richness and acidity brings great freshness.
A long-ageing wine.

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Vintage 2000

Weather conditions / The 2000 vintage was proclaimed from the start as one of the best vintages of modern times. In the spring of 2003, I had many opportunities to find out if we really had a true dream vintage on our hands.

During the 2000 harvest, while doing a “personal inspection” in the vineyards, I noticed that something extraordinary was on the way. The grapes looked extremely healthy.

While the sorting table was rolling, I observed that there were few leaves, stems and weeds among the grapes. This is why sorting the grapes was so easy and quick. This must be one of the characteristics of the 2000 vintage, because normally even great vintages require a lot of work at the sorting table.

 

The 2000 vintage is a classic, extravagant and extremely long Bordeaux with dark and extremely dense wines, which have a huge concentration of fruit, length and superbly concentrated tannins. The tannin is not allowed to dominate, as it is well enveloped by the fruit. A scent of under-ripeness is only present in a few wines. One of the hallmarks of this vintage is an intense, deep aroma of dark berries, such as blueberries, blackberries and black cherries.

All red grape varieties have reached perfect maturity, including Bordeaux's most temperamental and unruly grape variety, Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot brings to wines the long-awaited addition of backbone and power.

Additionally, the grapes for whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle, ripened perfectly and produced extremely fine dry white wines. The sweet white wines have unfortunately transformed into some light, elegant and charming wines, based 100% on the September harvest. From October 11, it rained a lot in Bordeaux and this continued until the end of the year.

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Tasting note

color

Medium

recommend

Yes

Written Notes

The last wine was a 2000 L’Angelus, which was a big, big, red, red wine. I needed a fork to scrape this sucker off my tongue. There was a lot of wheat, black, grits and grit to the wine, but I didn’t have a lot left in me, so I reserve my right to amend my (93+).

  • 93p
Deep, dark ruby colour. Intense, refined and seductive nose – ripe cassis, dark chocolate, vanilla and sweet spicy aromas. Full-bodied, supple palate with vivid acidity, round tannins and delicately intense fruit. Black fruit and dark chocolate flavours are escorting the opulent and long finish. The harmoniously balanced wine has such a pleasant and opulent character that is, despite the young age of the wine, already being delivered and enjoyd. The wine has however a great potential and will only improve within next few decades.
  • 93p

The dazzlingly fruity, creamy balanced Merlot were blended with the slightly generously-ripe Cabernet Franc. The wines have a purplish black robe and display aromas of blackberry, plum and blackcurrant as well as delicate hints of smoke and liquorice. They fill the mouth, are amazingly concentrated and have a magnificent tannic structure. The balance between acidity and lush richness produces a strong impression of freshness. These wines will keep for a very long time indeed.

Harvest: 14th to 27th September
Blend: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc
Drink: 2035 - 2045

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Information

Origin

St. Emilion, Bordeaux
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