Château Angelus 2023

On the label of every bottle of Château Angélus is the picture of a bell.  This Saint-Émilion Premiere Grand Cru Classé A estate is situated in a natural amphitheater, surrounded by three local churches. The property’s namesake is derived from the close proximity to these spiritual houses of worship.  During the harvest, vineyard workers can hear the church bells toiling while they tend to the vines.  But there’s a deeper meaning to the symbol of the bell: it also represents the spiritual and priestlike devotion the eight generations of the Boüard family have to the vines at this property.  The Boüard who currently runs the estate - Stephanie de Boüard-Rivoal - puts it best.  She says, “We are only the guardians of a history that presided us and will survive us, so our role is to sustain it in the best conditions we are able to achieve.”

Château Angélus is one of the few estates in Bordeaux that has been run by the same family since its inception.  The Boüard family has an even longer history than Château Angélus, as their legacy spans 700 years.  Château Angélus was always a respectable property in Saint-Émilion, but once Hubert de Boüard took over after graduating from Bordeaux University and studying under the famed professor Émile Peynaud, quality skyrocketed. Throughout the generations, the Boüard family business was always deeply entrenched in the wine trade.  So much, in fact, that one of the original names of Cabernet Franc was Bouchet, the maiden name of Hubert de Boüard’s Grandmother, Elizabeth Bouchet.

Admittedly, the quality of the wines at Château Angélus were underperforming in the early 1980s. But once Hubert de Boüard brought forth some revolutionary techniques from Burgundy, things started to change.  Hubert made adjustments to the fermentation process, choosing to ferment whole berry in open top vats and conduct malolactic fermentation in small barrels instead.  He made sure the estate would harvest parcel by parcel – like the vignerons of Burgundy did – and encouraged periods of ageing their wines on the lees.  This would mean the wines would have more exposure to the yeast cells, yielding a creamier mouthfeel.  Many estates have emulated Château Angélus’ viticultural techniques, and though these practices may seem commonplace today they were revolutionary at the time of introduction at the estate.

Stephanie de Boüard-Rivoal took over managing the Château Angélus in 2012, which was a very big year for the property.  In 2012, Château Angélus was promoted to Saint-Émilion Premiere Grand Cru Classés A – the highest honor an estate can obtain in that part of the Right Bank. Since then, Stephanie has championed the transition of Château Angélus to organic viticulture.  She is the third woman in the long line of Boüards to run the estate and has managed to move the property to 100% organic farming as of 2018.  As of 2021, Château Angélus received its organic certification.  Stephanie says the vineyards give her emotional and spiritual strength. She shares her ancestors’ devotion to crafting some of the most profound wines on the Right Bank. 

"A classic blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 Angélus reflects this estate's continuing evolution with regard to ripeness, extraction and élevage choices, offering up attractive aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with hints of mint, potpourri, rose petals, vine smoke and orange zest. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and supple, with a velvety attack that segues into a core of pure, pillowy fruit framed by supple, powdery tannins, it's cool and harmonious, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. This is a terrific effort that foregrounds the vintage and the terroir at their best.

Since taking the helm at Angélus, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal and her team, inspired by the terroir transparency of the wines of the 1950s, have been boldly evolving toward less impactful winemaking. What does that mean in practice? Cooler macerations, élevage that now incorporates foudres for the grand vin and tanks for Tempo, No. 3 and Carillon, reducing the impact of new barriques without the loss in precision that often comes from repeatedly reused barrels—along with, I'm sure, a host of other smaller changes that cumulatively mean that Angélus today is a very different beast from the rich, toasty wine of the 1990s and early 2000s.

The 2023 vintage has delivered wines with quite low pHs, with the team opting to harvest comparatively early to preserve freshness. Long cold macerations were followed by cool fermentations, with a maximum of 22 degrees Celsius, and the wines were barreled down clean and cool. Technical director Benjamin Laforet compares the vinifications in 2023 to a long-exposure photograph and compares the resulting wines with the estate's 2001s." - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, (04/26/2024) Ratings: 95-96  

"Cocoa bean, liquorice, pomegranate, smoked earth, sage, anis, fennel, slate tannins, this combines nuanced and sinewy tannins with a generous supple expansion through the palate, building in power and impact. Beautifully fragrant, measured and skilful. 50% in foudres for Cabernet Franc, 50% new oak for the Merlot. Harvest September 14 through to October 1, Benjamin Laforest winemaker, Stephane de Boüard-Rivoal owner." - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, (04/22/2024), Ratings: 96 Drink: 2030-2050

"The 2023 Château Angélus is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc that’s fermented in its individual parcels and isn't blended until very late. It's very much in the more fresh, focused, precise style of this château and has a beautiful nose of ripe black raspberries, cassis, spicy wood, melted crayons, and tobacco. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Angélus with remarkable purity, ultra-fine tannins, and beautiful overall balance. It's certainly not the biggest or richest Angélus, but it has incredible purity, focus, and elegance." - Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2023 En Primeur, (05/8/2024), Ratings: 93-96

"The 2023 Angélus is the traditional blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. It aged for 20 months in new oak with just over half the Cabernet Franc aged in foudres (the Merlot is apparently less receptive to this larger vessel). It has a crisp and precise bouquet, not powerful, a light marine influence coming through with background scents of oyster shell. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. There’s a pleasant saline edge to this Angélus, perhaps a little more compact on the mid-palate than usual, with touches of white pepper toward the finish. It needs a little more persistency on the aftertaste. This will deserve five of six years in bottle." - Neal Martin, Vinous, (04/29/2024), Ratings: 94-96