Château Angélus 2022 en Primeur

This is a powerful Angelus, showing incredible depth and intensity as well as tannins that are totally melted into the wine, giving incredible energy for such a young bottle. It makes me think of the great reds of the 1940s or 1950s but with modern precision. Full-bodied but agile, this has endless length, the blackberries and crushed stones, light herbs and dark chocolate showing throughout. Such balance. Al dente. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. So attractive now but will age forever.

Dark ruby in colour with an opaque core, purple reflections, and subtle brightening on the rim. On the nose, an inviting bouquet of subtle sweet tobacco, a hint of herbs, fine red berry nuances, subtle nougat, and orange zest in the background. The elegant, silky palate is juicy with ripe cherry fruit, delicately spicy nuances with fine fruit, great freshness, and barely noticeable, finely polished tannins. Already very accessible, this is a delicate food wine equipped with considerable length and great ageing potential.

The 2022 Angélus has turned out beautifully in bottle, reflecting the estate's shift toward a livelier, more integrated style. Wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet cherries, blackberries and mulberries mingled with rose petals and violets, it's full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, with a deep, enveloping core of succulent fruit, integrated tannins and a long, perfumed finish. It was bottled in the last week of July 2024.

Looking at the Grand Vin, the 2022 Château Angélus is based on 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot that will spend 22 months in new French oak, with a portion of the Cabernet Franc aged in foudre. This estate doesn't put a foot wrong, and this is clearly a profound Angélus with a deep purple, almost blue hue, extraordinary notes of cassis, blueberry liqueur, acacia flowers, and scorched earth, full-bodied richness, building tannins, and a dense, concentrated mid-palate, all of which is grounded by a vibrant sense of freshness and purity. While older vintages were more closed and backward on release, this has a certain accessibility given its balance and purity, and I suspect it will offer incredible pleasure right out of the gate. It will evolve for 40+ years as well.

An excellently constructed and impressive Angélus in 2022 with power, focus and detail. Aromatically expressive; a burst of black and blue fruits on the nose, gorgeous floral scents, liquorice, graphite, damson, juniper berries, dark chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon. Straight and sleek, almost sharp red and blue berries marry with a slate minerality edging the tannins that makes the texture quite firm and mouthcoating but so precise with a playful juiciness on the mid palate and overall appealing coolness. Lovely clarity and layering of flavour, some strictness coming from the Cabernet Franc at this point, but there’s such class, finesse and precision on show. One for the long haul and will reward cellaring. Unlike in 2020 which took three days to harvest Merlot, 2022 took them two weeks, finishing with Cabernet Franc at the beginning of October. No press wine in the grand vin.