Château Angélus, St Emilion, 2015
Hubert de Bouard's flagship estate is back to its very best. Some would question Angelus' promotion to Premier Grand Cru Classé 'A' status, and we are not going to enter the debate, St Emilion politics is a can of worms best left unopened… What we can say is that the 2015 Angelus is very impressive and very technical. Produced from 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, it is brooding initially, then develops notes of toast, smoke, cassis, black cherry, violets and gravel. The palate is impressively concentrated with dark mulberry liqueur flavours and Valrhona notes. There is clearly a lot of extract, it is almost thick, but we think the winemaking team deserve a lot of credit; they have resisted the temptation to go too far and the wine retains good energy and acidity and impressive fruit coated tannins. An impressive, growling, yet harmonious Angelus.
critic reviews
The 2015 Angélus has a ripe and generous bouquet with black cherry, espresso, dark chocolate and peppermint aromas, but it doesn't have the precision of the best Right Bank wines. The palate is very plush and forward, with velvety tannins and hints of chocolate chips infusing the red fruit. It's another 2015 that inches toward Napa in style on the finish. This has just a bit of heat, but it's seductive and I believe time will temper its flamboyant personality. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting at Farr Vintners.