Critic Scores & Tasting Notes
James Suckling 97-98/100
“Very classy, the transparency of this Angelus giving brilliance to the pure fruit in such a difficult growing season. Medium-bodied, it has a compacted palate and creamy, polished tannins. Very melted and harmonized. Dark cherries, raspberries and orange peel come through beautifully with some stones. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc.”
Decanter 96/100
“Beautiful fragrance on the nose, super perfumed and floral with sweet red fruits too, lifted and very welcoming. Creamy red cherries and bright strawberries. Round and filling, this has instant appeal with a generous push of crisp fruit but it’s more the texture and layering of elements here that is so wonderful. Feels precise and well detailed with finely woven tannins that have a connotation and almost thickness to them that many in the vintage don’t have. Classic, cool and super fresh but filled with crystalline fruit and so much elegance. Fun, fruity, stylish and just brilliant. Great mineral finish too. Fabulous. I visited Angélus during the harvest and saw first hand pristine berries. 3.65pH.”
Vinous 94/100
“The 2024 Angelus is very fine. It is the first vintage I have tasted that captures the newer approach at Angelus, one where the wines are not as extracted as in the past. Black cherry, plum, spice, new leather and menthol fill out the layers effortlessly. Here, too, the wine shows superb balance and real textural presence. The blend is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, with the Merlot being raised in 80% new oak and 20% once-filled barrels, and the Cabernet Franc in equal parts foudres and new smaller French oak barels. The 2024 is mid-weight, classy and polished.”
Wine Advocate 90-93/100
“A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, cropped at a very honorable 40 hectoliters per hectare, the 2024 Angélus has turned out well, offering up aromas of dark berries, minty plums and violet, framed by a deft touch of toasty oak. Medium-bodied, ample and suave, it’s polished and textural, with sweet but present tannins and creditable persistence on the finish.”
The expressive bouquet and elegance of a great Saint-Émilion wine
The property
Founded in 1782, the Château Angélus is an emblematic estate of Bordeaux, located in Saint-Émilion. Spanning 32 hectares, it has been managed by the de Boüard family for 8 generations. The vineyard, mainly planted with cabernet franc and merlot, benefits from a unique clay-limestone terroir on the southern slope of Saint-Émilion. The name “Angélus” comes from the bells of the neighboring churches, symbolizing the heritage and identity of the estate.
The vineyard
Located on the southern slope of Saint-Émilion, on the “foot of the slope”, the Château Angélus vineyard flourishes on a particularly suitable clay-limestone terroir for the expression of Bordeaux grape varieties. The vines are on average 39 years old.
The wine
2024 is adorned with a bottle whose illustration pays tribute to the 40th vintage of Hubert de Bouärd at the head of the estate, but also the 10th made hand in hand with his daughter Stéphanie de Bouärd-Rivoal.
The vintage
After a mild and wet winter, the spring was particularly rainy, except for a brief respite during flowering. Fortunately, the months of July and August, hot and dry, favored the maturation of the grapes, bringing them aromatic richness and concentration. Despite a more unstable September, the harvest was able to take place under good conditions, with a satisfactory yield and beautiful grapes at the end.
Vinification and aging
The merlots are vinified in wooden and stainless steel tanks, while the cabernet francs ferment in concrete tanks. A cold pre-fermentation maceration (8°C) is carried out for 4 days to a week depending on the characteristics of the grapes. Fermentation takes place at temperatures that can reach 28°C, followed by a post-fermentation maceration between 28 and 30°C for 1 to 3 weeks. Aging continues for 22 months, in new French oak barrels with fine grain and medium heat for the merlots and some cabernet francs, and in 30 hl vats for the particularly remarkable cabernet francs.
The Blend
60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc.
