Critic Notes
This is another magnificent wine. How much fun will it be to have the 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2010 in future tastings to see which vintage comes out on top? They are all candidates that will flirt with perfection, depending on the state of their evolution. The 2010 has a similar color to the 2009, but is perhaps even more opaque, which seems almost impossible. Subtle barbecue smoke, graphite, blackberry liqueur, licorice and chocolate jump from the glass, and the wine hits the palate with a thunderous cascade of sweet, velvety, full-bodied, concentrated black fruits, nice definition from the tannins and decent acidity. The wine has a majestic, multilayered finish that goes on for a minute. This magnificent wine is still frightfully young and still somewhat unformed, but every bit as prodigious as its older sibling, the 2009. This will probably end up evolving on a slightly slower evolutionary track. However, it has 50 years of longevity in it.||The Boüard family, the proprietors of Château Angelus, date from 1544 in St.-Emilion. Located on lower hillsides, with a southerly exposure, their 67-acre vineyard, composed of sandstone, limestone and clay, is planted with 47% Cabernet Franc, 50% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon.| Hubert de Boüard, who single-handedly elevated the quality from one of mediocrity (vintages such as 1978, 1982, 1983, and 1985 were disappointing), hit pay dirt with his efforts starting in 1988. Since then, there has been a remarkable succession of great wines.| Radical viticulture such as crop-thinning, shoot-positioning and the immensely labor-intensive manual destemming are employed. Both a second and third wine are made, as the selection process for Angelus is severe. All of this resulted in the 2012 Angelus being upgraded, along with Pavie, to Premier Grand Cru Classé A, joining Cheval Blanc and Ausone as one of only four estates in St.-Emilion to receive this accolade.| Aging takes place in 100% new oak for 18-24 months, after which the wine is bottled with neither fining nor filtration. | eRobertParker.com.August, 2015
Score: 99-/100Robert Parker
Wild aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate and hints of toasted nuts. Very intense. Full bodied, with super integrated tannins and a fabulous finish. Goes on for minutes. This takes off on the palate. Really impressive. 45 percent Cabernet Franc and 55 percent Merlot. jamessuckling.com
Score: 97-98/100James Suckling
Angelus From an assemblage of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, this inky purple wine sports a beautiful sheen. Licorice, coffee, jammy black and red fruits, earth and stone aromas are found with little effort. The full boded, rich, concentrated wine feels sexy and plush with its cashmere tannins. The long, intense, balanced finish ends with licorice, chocolate and pure, black plum liqueur sensations. Hubert de Bouard prefers this to the 2005, which for me, remains the benchmark wine for Chateau Angelus. At this point in time, I do not agree with Hubert. But it?s going to be fun comparing those and other vintages over the next several decades. winecellarinsider.com
Score: 96-98/100Jeff Leve
In the same league as the amazing '09 but an even bigger structure here. Tell-tale saturated colour. Busy, complex nose with spice, cacao and violet (45% Cabernet Franc) notes. Ripe, succulent fruit on the palate but not overblown. Lingering freshness behind. Powerful but refined tannins. Long, persistent finish. James Lawther, decanter.com
Score: 18.5-/20Decanter
The 2010 Angelus has notes of fresh blackberries, blueberries and cedar, and is made in a lively style with good length and freshness. The wines of Angelus are definitely evolving towards a more elegant style, with the right amount of supporting acidity. asianpalate.com
Score: 93-96/100Jeannie Cho Lee MW
Through crepuscular tannins and innocent acids, the earliest fruit is revealed. As a result of the devotional exercise of the winemakers, this may be the Angélus, the finest of the early millennium – a ringing salutation whose message will be fully understood in 30 years of maturity.
Score: 18-/20Ivor Davies
Very reticent on the nose but the palate is completly stuffed full of super (over?) ripe fruit and huge tannin levels. Our hunch is that with sufficent time this will come good...but it's going to take a while!
Score: 17-18/20FINE+RARE
The Angelus 2010 has a very ripe, quite opulent, dense bouquet with dark cherries, cassis, dark plum/Hoi Sin with good definition and a lot of ambition. The palate is full-bodied with very thick, bold tannins lending enormous structure to this Angelus. Layers of ripe blackberry, dark cherries and boysenberry with well integrated new oak. As usual, very modern in style, but very dry and tannic on the finish at the moment. Tasted March 2011. Neal Martin erobertparker.com
Score: 92-94/100Neal Martin
Extremely dark purple. Very beguiling scent. Intense. Purple fruits and then balsam wood. Real exciting palate hit – quite sweet but with structure too. Looking pretty good! Tense and intense. Needs lots of time. A sort of halfway house to Pavie style. jancisrobinson.com
Score: 17.5-/20Jancis Robinson
