Angelus 2019

The grand vin 2019 Château Angelus, a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, is certainly up with the top wines in the vintage. (It actually reminds me a little of a more elegant version of the 2005.) Deep purple-hued, with a blockbuster bouquet of black cherries, blackberries, spice box, violets, spring flowers, and chocolate, it has a terrific sense of minerality, full-bodied richness, building tannins, and an incredible sense of elegance pair with power. A quintessential example of the style now emerging from this estate, it's going to need 5-7 years of bottle age to hit maturity (it won't disappoint in its youth either) and will evolve gracefully for 20-30 years. (99) JEB DUNNUCK

The 2019 Angélus has a sophisticated bouquet with extraordinarily pure blackberry, raspberry, inkwell and crushed iris petals scents, like the Carillon but HD in terms of its clarity. The palate is beautifully defined on the entry, the Cabernet component steering it towards say, Figeac or Cheval Blanc stylistically. It already feels very harmonious, the satin-like texture is supported by real substance and grip on the finish, perhaps more density than some of its peers. This is an outstanding Angélus, one likely to surpass the 2016, a wine that will give 30-40 years of pleasure, maybe more. (98) NEAL MARTIN

Composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Angélus was harvested from the 13th of September until the 4th of October. Deep garnet-purple colored, it sashays out of the glass with gregarious scents of Morello cherries, lilacs, chocolate box and potpourri with a core of Black Forest cake, blueberry crumble, fragrant soil and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the intensity on the palate builds from delicate, beguiling nuances with ethereal weight to a full-on fireworks display of flavor sparks, framed by fantastic freshness and very finely pixilated tannins, finishing long, layered and invigorating. (99) WINE ADVOCATE

Deep, almost opaque ruby in color, the wine loads you up with flowers, licorice, smoke, wet earth, spice, vanilla along with red with black fruits on the nose. Classically styled, (in a good way,) the wine is precise, focused, energetic and pure. Silk with structure are what you notice on the palate along with multiple layers of perfectly ripe, concentrated plums, cherries and blackberries that linger and expand. The wine was made from blending 60% Merlot with 40% Cabernet Franc reaching 14.5 ABV with a pH of 3.65. The wine is aging in 100% new, French oak, however, 40% of the Cabernet Franc is aged in barrels, allowing the oak to have almost finished integrating into the wine. (99) JEFF LEVE