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.

Drinking Window: 2028 - 2058

Reviewer Name: Jeb Dunnuck

Review Date: 11th March 2021

The aromas are incredibly complex with dark berries, elderberries, bay leaves, cloves and tile, follow through to a full body with layers of creamy and lightly dusty tannins that deliver a lingering finish and great attention to detail. The flavors range from black fruit to earth and stones. It’s reserved and poised with great intensity and power, in a toned and formed mode. One for the cellar. Try after 2026.

Review Date: 4th March 2021

The 2018 Angélus is blended of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, aged mainly in oak barriques, 100% new, plus two new foudres. Deep garnet-purple in color, it struts flamboyantly out of the glass with stylish scents of black raspberries, boysenberries and Black Forest cake, plus nuances of rose oil, forest floor, dusty soil and cinnamon toast with a hint of cedar chest. The medium to full-bodied palate is carrying a little new oak at this youthful stage, framing the generous red and black fruits along with ripe, plush grape-skin tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and spicy. Give it 5-6 years in cellar for everything to marry, then drink it over the next 20+ years.

Drinking Window: 2026 - 2046

Reviewer Name: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Review Date: 31st March 2021

The 2018 Angélus is striking. Cabernet Franc aromatics make a strong first impression. Vibrant and delineated, the 2018 is incredibly refined in every way. The move towards a bit less extraction really seems to let the purity of the fruit come through. The same is true of a reduction of oak. All the elements come together so effortlessly. The 2018 has all the richness readers expect of Angélus, with much more finesse and more overall vibrancy, a combination that works so well.

Drinking Window: 2028 - 2043

Reviewer Name: Antonio Galloni

Review Date: 1st March 2021

Barrel Sample. This is a dense, smoky wine, packed with ripe tannins and a line of fresh acidity that forms a fine contrast. It's a great wine that is rich in tannins while keeping elegance and finesse.

Reviewer Name: Roger Voss

Review Date: 1st April 2019

A wonderful Angélus, rich in the character of this vintage. Stunning length on the silky tannins. This extends outwards, and the architecture is very much more linear than circular (as it is in some vintages), with a lovely freshness and power. I just love how effortless this feels, with deeply intense black fruits and a dried herb edge. The flesh isn't overt but absolutely present. Likely to take on some more weight over time and it will certainly take its time to reach its perfect drinking window. Wonderful sense of energy, power and intensity, yet it's so drinkable now. The 100% new oak is very well-integrated, a brilliant success. Blend is 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, with the lowest pH for many years at 3.7 (the 2009 more like 3.9), mainly because the wide temperature differences between day and night slowed down the maturing process and kept freshness.

Reviewer Name: Jane Anson

Review Date: 11th April 2019

As I mentioned in my tasting note from barrel, the 2018 Angélus is the first vintage aged in two new foudres. It is very perfumed on the nose, one of the most floral that I can recall at this early stage. Violet and incense aromas percolate through the precise blackberry and cassis fruit, all displaying fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. This is a velvety-smooth Angélus that would drink young if there was not still some oak to be assimilated. Fine balance and focus on the finish, which seems to firm up with continued aeration. This is a charming and quite sophisticated Saint-Émilion that should give 20–30 years of drinking pleasure.

Drinking Window: 2023 - 2048

Reviewer Name: Neal Martin

Review Date: 1st March 2021