2015 Chateau Angelus - 1er Grand Cru Classe-A St. Emilion

04/16: *Très suave, fruit avec fraîcheur, intensité élégante, superbe fraîcheur, longueur veloutée avec un merlot très suave, mais de grande énergie.* (98/100)

Decanter.com – 96 pts – JA: *A vintage that favoured St-Émilion, and they have made the most of it at Angélus. There are signals of a hot year in the black cherry, cinnamon and fresh fig notes, given depth and complexity with cassis, cigar box, crushed stone and a freshly-crushed mint leaf finish, along with a tingling minerality that cuts through the exuberance and concentration of the vintage. Harvest September 22 to October 14. New cellar as of 2014 also.* - 09/2020

Falstaff Magazin - 98pts - PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, fester Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, feine Edelholnuancen, zart nach Gewürznelken und Kardamom, florales Parfum, feine schwarze Beerenfrucht, ein Hauch von Mandarinenzesten, voller Noblesse. Stoffig, engmaschig, ohne zu kraftvoll oder opulent zu wirken, perfekt sitzende Tannine, von großer Tragweite, wird am Gaumen immer länger, Brombeeren und Nougat im Abgang, mineralisch und lang, ein Vin de Garde, den man gut verstecken muss, weil er schon jetzt so viel zu bieten hat.* - 05/2017

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 97pts - LPB: *A blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 Angelus reveals a deep garnet-purple color and fragrant aromas of crushed red currants, warm plums and pencil shavings with hints of incense, sage, violets and tobacco. Full-bodied, very fine and intense yet exquisitely delicate with wonderful freshness, it has ripe yet firm, very finely grained tannins and an epically long, perfumed finish. With bags of perfume and a captivating plushness, this Angelus is a real head-turner!* -02/2018

04/16: *Kräftig, stilsicher gekeltert, eng gewoben, erstklassiges, frisches Tannin, grosses aromatisches
Potenzial, ewig langes Beerenfinale. Leicht höherer Merlot-Anteil als im Schnitt (62%).* (18/20)

Weinwisser - 19/20pts - RG: *50 % Merlot, 47 % Cabernet Franc, 3 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Eine grosse Ernte mit mehr als 100.000 Flaschen. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Grosses Bouquet, geprägt von reifen Cabernets, dunklen Röstnoten, pflaumigen Eindrücken, legt an der Luft permanent zu. Im zweiten Ansatz Cassis, Mokka, Lakritze und viel dunkle Edelhölzer. Im Gaumen eine mächtige Delikatesse, also von feinen Eindrücken bis hin zur Aromenpower ist die ganze Bandbreite da. Die Grundaromatik bewegt sich zwischen blauen bis schwarzen Beeren, die Tannine reich aber auch schon angerundet, aber auch verlangend, der Nachklang ist und bleibt auch noch lange schier überaromatisch. Ein grosser spannender Angélus mit einer grossen Spannung. Ich fand hier viele Parallelen zum 1998er und so kann dieser 2015er vielleicht auch einmal bei der Maximalwertung landen.*

JancisRobinson.com - 17.5/20pts - JR: *Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Fresher than some with a fragrance – Cabernet? Hint of butteriness and lots of alcohol and pleasure even if hardly any tannin left. Hot finish. An early developer?* - 05/2022

04/16: *Ma meilleure note donnée à ce cru en primeur. Couleur intense et belle. Nez très aromatique aussi, fruité, pur, mûr et complexe. Entrée en bouche nuancée, le vin avance en fondant avec du goût. À partir du milieu, il continue de fondre et devient plus puissant tout en restant gracieux. Longue finale complexe et savoureuse au grain fin. Superbe ! Assemblage 62 % merlot et 38 % cabernet franc. Sélection 65 % de premier vin. Degré d'alcool 14. pH : 3.7. IPT : 90.* (97/100)

JamesSuckling.com - 99-100pts - JS: *This shows the purity of Angelus. I have never tasted a wine from here with such incredible clarity. Full body, full fruit and full beauty. Super silky tannins. A joy to taste. Makes you want to drink it. 62% merlot and 38% cabernet franc.* - 04/2016

Vinous.com - 95+pts - AG: *Readers will have to be very patient with the 2015 Angélus. Massively tannic and forbidding, Angélus is one of the most reticent, unyielding 2015s I tasted. The high percentage of Cabernet Franc, the approach to extraction, aging in the cellar - which involves minimal racking and low S02 - and slightly late bottling are some of the factors that result in a huge, powerful, impenetrable wine at this stage. Even so, the 2015 exudes concentration and depth. Time in the glass brings out some of the wine's unctuousness, but it will be at least a decade before the 2015 is ready to deliver true drinking pleasure.* - 02/2018

04/16: *This is a concentrated wine that has a sense of style, showing wonderful fruit and structure. It is
powerful in tannins while the acidity also gives it lightness and poise. The quality of the Merlot in the blend
this year has given the wine concentration while the Cabernet Franc has added its fragrance. This is a wine for
long-term aging.* (96-98/100)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - (95-97)pts - NM: *The 2015 Angelus is a blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, picked from 22 September finishing on 14 October. "We found a nice homogeneity with the Merlot lots," I was told when I visited. "The old Cabernet Franc was very nice, but the younger vines were blended into the second label. This year, it is especially the Merlot that lends a lot of harmony to the wine. This year, the Merlot have some of the qualities of the Cabernet Franc, the precision and freshness. They give the generosity and sweetness." The wine was aged in 100% new oak at 11 degrees Celsius so they could add less sulfur to keep the freshness of the aromas and maintain the elegance of the wine. It offers a complex array of aromas such as black cherry, camphor, oyster shells and Japanese nori, beautifully defined and very focused. The palate is medium-bodied but powerful with layer of svelte tannins and a keen thread of acidity; layers of black fruit laced with spices, baking powder, mint and white pepper. It feels long in the mouth, insistently clinging for a minute after the wine has departed. Oh là là. This is a sexy, but compelling Angelus, fit for "007" and wine-lovers everywhere.* - 04/2016

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 100 pts – JL: *Everything is coming up roses here, in the nose. That is before finding all the truffle, espresso, dark chocolate, black cherry, smoke, spice and plums on the nose. Rich, dense and concentrated, the wine is voluptuous, ostentations and sexy. The velvet tannins feel just great as the wine flows over your palate. The finish just keeps on going. Opened in the name of science, this will start really rocking in about 2027.* - 07/2020