Chateau Angelus

2019

• 

  Vintage 2019
  98 points www.jamessuckling.com

Redcurrants, sweet tobacco and flowers with some sandalwood. Very perfumed and floral. So pure. Full-bodied, yet so refined and layered, with a soft, compact palate and a crushed-velvet mouth-feel. Poised fruit at the end, together with fresh, rare wood and a light chocolate undertone to the aftertaste. This is open, yet there’s so much in reserve. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. Leave it in the cellar for at least eight years. Try after 2029.

• 

  Vintage 2019
  98 points Wine Advocate MW

A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Angelus is deep garnet-purple colored. It comes bounding out of the glass with energetic scents of Morello cherries, wild blueberries, and juicy black plums, with suggestions of licorice, candied violets, and forest floor with a touch of crushed rocks. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly wound, delicate layers, supported by a lively backbone and firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and perfumed. "2019 was the dream year for grape growing!" said Stephanie de Bouard-Rivoal. "It was hot, but things were balanced with cool nights. The seeds and the skins were ripe at the same time, which is unusual. We had nothing to do in the vineyard and nothing to do in the cellar."