Angelus 2018

I loved the 2018 Château Angélus from barrel last year and it blew me away from bottle, epitomizing the new, fresher, more elegant style of the estate while still bringing classic Angélus richness and power. The 2018 is a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in new oak, with a portion of the Cabernet Franc in foudre. A vivid purple color is followed by a vibrant bouquet of blackberries, crème de cassis, crushed violets, spring flowers, and cedar pencil. Beautifully concentrated, full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, it has gorgeous tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and awesome length. I followed this bottle for multiple days and it only improved, picking up additional depth and richness, while never showing a hint of oxidation. Pure perfection, it's going to benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. This is a sensational, magical wine from this talented team, led by winemaker Emmanuelle d'Aligny-Fulchi. Comparing this to the more opulent 2005 and 2009 over the coming decades will be an incredible experience. (100) JEB DUNNUCK

The 2018 Angélus is a fabulous wine from the de Boüard family. Often much more severe when it is young, the 2018 possesses stunning depth and remarkable finesse. I don't think I have tasted a young Angélus with this much finesse. In this vintage, Angélus is 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, which is to say more Merlot and less Franc than in the past, which may or may not represent more of a longer term shift. To be sure, the 2018 is glorious, with generous, pliant fruit and silky tannins that add to its considerable allure. Crème de cassis, new leather, spice and licorice build into the striking finish. What a wine. (98) ANTONIO GALLONI

"This year we have slightly less Cabernet Franc in the blend because we are only using the oldest vines, planted by my grandfather, as a tribute," Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal said. "These are 60- to 80-year-old Cabernet Franc vines." From 2018, 10% of the entire Angélus crop will be aged in large oak foudres. "These produce tighter, more perfumed, brighter wines from less oxygen exposure," Stéphanie commented. The 2018 Angélus is blended of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, to be aged 18-22 months in barriques, 100% new, plus two new foudres. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slips slowly, sensuously out of the glass with beautiful black raspberries, kirsch, warm plums and red roses scents, building in intensity to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, raspberry coulis, black tea, woodsmoke and powdered cinnamon notions with a waft of black olives and charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers a wonderfully profound, multilayered, seamless experience of red and black fruits intertwined with earth, spice and floral notions and framed by exquisitely ripe, satiny tannins, finishing with amazing freshness and length. Incredibly, finely, expertly, seamlessly knit. Stunning. (100) WINE ADVOCATE

Opaque in color, the perfume, with its wet earth, black cherry, black raspberries, plum liqueur, chocolate, flowers, smoke and licorice is intoxicating. Voluptuous in nature, the cashmere textures that accompany all those unctuous layers of decadently ripe fruit work together in perfect harmony. With time, this could hit triple digits if it continues developing in a positive direction, which I think it will. With the 2018 you have an evolution not a revolution; there is a small shift in style moving to a more refined elegance while retaining all its power. The wine was made from blending 65% Merlot, and 35% Cabernet Franc. With the 2018 only the oldest Cabernet Franc vines were used in the blend. (99) JEFF LEVE