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Bordeaux 2015: Château Angélus

Written by JW. Posted in Bordeaux

IMG_0951Château Angélus is surely one of the wines of the 2015 vintage. It combines beauty and lush extravagance with a degree of freshness which is wonderfully exciting. It was among the most attractive wines I tasted during primeurs week. It confirms the beauty of this vintage here in St Emilion at the top level. The fruit tones are delicious and the balance is there. The question is whether we will be able to afford the wine. Le Carillon d’Angélus is a little firmer [partly the extra Cabernet in the blend] but it is very good. St Emilion Grand Crus Château Daugay and Château Roc de Boisseaux, properties with connections to the de Boüard family, are forward, precocious and enjoyable. I’ll discuss their Lalande de Pomerol, La Fleur de Boüard in a separate post [it is yet another beauty].  

Hubert de Boüard de Laforest and his daughter Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal report a ‘dreamt of’ year in 2015 in St Emilion. Conditions were ideal throughout the growing season. Perfect flowering was followed by a little rain before the very hot and very dry months of June and July. The cool August with some rain was ‘timely,’ allowing for balanced ripening. Generally fine, yet cool weather in September allowed for the perfect ripening of the grape tannins. With healthy grapes they could delay picking and the vintage almost spread across a month. They describe the grapes at Angélus in 2015 as ‘magnificent’.

I tasted the following wines at the property on Wednesday 6th April, 2016. The sheer beauty of Château Angélus stays in the mind. It is sublime.

Château Daugay, St Emilion Grand Cru

Mid depth; sweet and ripe; plums, liquorice and molasses; some olive hints and vanilla lift; red fruits; some strawberry notes; satin quality to the wine; quite seductive and sweet; very attractive glass of St Emilion! [60% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.8ha plot] Drink 2020-2028. 89-91+

Château Roc de Boisseaux, St Emilion Grand Cru

Deep-ish; tarry note; concentrated on the nose; liquourice; black fruits; intense – almost new world in style; menthol and blackcurrant jam; big; sweet entry; lots of matter and sweet ripe fruit; still soft; very attractive; nicely done wine. Perhaps falls away a little on the finish. [75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 8ha plot]. Drink 2020-2025. 89-91

Le Carillon d’Angélus, St Emilion Grand Cru

Deep; slightly looser at rim than Angelus; lots of fruit; spicy fruitcake and mincemeat; full some briary notes; nice creamy tone; nice texture; some minerality; spices and fruit cake notes; stones and some wet rocks; mid weight feel in fact; nice acidity and freshness here; plenty of material here. Nice tannic grip on the finish. [50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon]. Drink 2023-2030. 91-93+

Château Angélus, St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, ‘A’

Deep and saturated; opaque at centre; wonderfully lush but precision here too; beautiful poise; wonderful aromatics; such juicy fruit tones; a very joyful vintage [not hot, sweet or over ripe]; black fruits; sweet ripe plums; lovely seam of fruit here on the nose; opens up to reveal layers of aroma; lovely palate; laden with fruit; considerable structure beneath the lush fruit; still nicely woven together with excellent depth – not the tannins of say 2010 evident; more lushness but also with some freshness too; nice length on the finish. Needs ten years but the fruit is beautiful here in 2015. [62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc]. Sublime Angélus. Drink 2022-2035. 97-100

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