critic reviews
This Bordeaux, a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc from the Angélus team, is made in the Carillon d’Angélus cellars on the main road out towards Castillon, and the vines (all 50 hectares of them) are in the Castillon appellation. After sorting the vinification takes place in large stainless steel vats, after which 30% is matured in new oak barrels in the Carillon cellars for twelve months, while the other 70% remains in stainless steel. Lovely, fresh, grained, perfumed red cherry fruit on the nose, with toasted pip and a touch of chocolate. The texture is bright and pure, with a supple midpalate, very pure and underpinned by a finessed frame of tannins. A linear and fresh limestone drive here, with fresh raspberry and toast notes, before a sappy finish. The alcohol on the palate is 14.5%.
The added density of the vintage is clear, and this is extremely impressive, great lift through the palate, switchback of opulent texture, rich damson, cocoa bean, black tea, sandalwood and incense, flavourful and delivered with grip and tension. Super impressive, 100% new oak for the barrels, with 20% of the production (Cabernet Franc only) aged in large oak casks. September 8 to 29 for the harvest. First year out of the St Emilion ranking, still delivering at the top of the appellation.
The 2022 Angélus is still very contained on the nose, therefore, for this sample, I transferred the wine several times between two glasses in order to pry it open. It has a delineated and tensile bouquet, with blackberry, briar and light marine scents percolating through with time. Hints of oyster shell emerge from the limestone soils. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and saline, with gentle grip, fine tannins and a poised, persistent finish. There is a linearity to this Angélus that I appreciate due to the 40% Cabernet Franc. It’s very minerally on the aftertaste. This is an excellent Angélus that will age perhaps more slowly than its peers.
This estate's shift in the direction of gentler extraction and more reductive, less overtly oaky elevage continues, and this extreme vintage only underlines that. Fermented at cool temperatures (20 to 23 degrees Celsius), and with an increasing proportion of the wine's Cabernet Franc component matured in large wooden foudres, the 2022 Angelus wafts from the glass with deep aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with hints of iris, licorice and pencil lead. Full-bodied, deep and seamless, with a layered core of cool, vibrant fruit, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish, it's a brilliant young wine in the making. The 2022 is a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.