Chateau Angelus Bordeaux Collectors Wine Tasting with Special Guest Yves de Launay Tuesday, January 23rd 7:30pm
"It wasn't always like this. Before Paris, people didn't drink our wine. I mean, my friends did. But you could hardly consider their palates discerning..."
Bo Barrett - Bottle Shock
We are big fans of Chateau Angelus so when I heard that Yves de Launay was coming into town I knew that we had a lot of Chateau Angelus collectors out there that would love to bring a bottle out of their cellar to share with our group tonight.
Our collector series tasting event is where we ask you, our wine drinking people, to come up with some wine from your wine collection to add to the party in exchange for your ticket to the event. That’s correct the collector series tasting means you must bring a bottle of Chateau Angelus from your cellar to attend the event. The catch is we only need one bottle of each vintage of Chateau Angelus for this event and we already have six vintages spoken for.
Chateau Angelus Collectors Cellar Tasting
with Special Guest Yves de Launay
Tuesday January 23th
7:30pm
Let me explain further- this is a two-part event:
The first part of the evening begins at 7:30pm, this is where we will be tasting through a selection of new releases of the Carillon de Chateau Angelus. This will be a happy hour style event at the bar. The wines we will be showing are the ones below.
2020 CHATEAU ANGELUS 'TEMPO D'ANGÉLUS' SAINT-EMILION
Price: $34.50 Your Price: $30.36
(91 Points) "A value-priced release from this brilliant estate, the 2020 Tempo D'Angélus comes all from vines owned by Château Angélus and is based on 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc aged 18 months in barrel. It's well worth seeking out and has a dense purple hue to go with classic Right Bank Merlot black cherry and black raspberry fruits, tobacco, cedarwood, and floral nuances. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with good mid-palate density and a great finish, it should certainly be an outstanding wine." Jeb Dunnuck
2020 LE CARILLON DE L'ANGELUS ST EMILION
Price: $157.50 Your Price: $138.60
(92 points) “ Based on 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, raised in 60% new French oak (the balance is in stainless steel), the 2020 Le Carillon D'Angelus has a medium-bodied, vibrant, quite elegant profile that certainly brings a touch of the class and finesse that's almost always found in the Grand Vin. Ripe cherries, black raspberries, spice box, sandalwood, and dried flower notes make up the aromatics, and this balanced, wonderfully complete second wine has fine tannins and a good spine of acidity. It will benefit from a few years in the cellar and keep for 10-15 years. “ (3/2023) Jeb Dunnuck
2018 LE CARILLON DE L'ANGELUS ST EMILION
Price: $198.00 Your Price: $174.24
(93 Points) I loved the 2018 Carillon D'Angélus. This Merlot-dominated blend (there's 15% Cabernet Franc) offers a healthy ruby/purple color as well as a complex, smoky bouquet of ripe black fruits, graphite, tobacco, and a kiss of earth. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully balanced, it has a sexy, seamless texture, polished tannin's, and the class to drink nicely for 15 years or more. Jeb Dunnuck
2016 LE CARILLON DE L'ANGELUS ST EMILION
Price: $198.00 Your Price: $174.24
(94 points) “The level of precision in the cellar at Angélus is always impressive, but they have taken it to new levels in recent years. Parts of the harvest undergo cold soak, plots are vinified at different temperatures, and undergo different lengths of post-fermentation maceration depending on tannic or fruit potential. The cellar is kept cooler than normal to preserve aromatics. This wine is delicious, with a hugely aromatic freshness in the mouth, showing griotte cherries, gourmet spice and floral notes of violets and white flowers. This is 70% new oak, a little more than usual, but a mark of the vintage is this ability to take new oak very well. Blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. (JA)” (4/2017) Decanter
2015 LE CARILLON DE L'ANGELUS ST EMILION
Price: $180.00 Your Price: $158.40
(90 Points) Composed of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 Le Carillon d'Angelus sports a medium to deep garnet-purple color and a very spicy nose of cloves, cinnamon and fenugreek over core of warm red fruits and freshly crushed blackberries plus wafts of rose hips and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, very fresh and delicate in the mouth, it offers soft tannins with a savory, slightly chewy finish. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2012 LE CARILLON DE L'ANGELUS ST EMILION
Price: $186.00 Your Price: $163.68
“His second wine, the 2012 Carillon de L’Angélus, has turned out well for proprietor Hubert de Boüard. Dense ruby purple, it is soft and round, with deep fruit, light tannin and a nicely textured mouthfeel. This is a serious second wine to drink over the next decade. (RP) “ (4/2015) Wine Advocate
Part two of the evening is dinner with your bottles of Chateau Angelus.
Here are the vintages of Chateau Angelus that we have already:
(I will add the vintages as people respond with the vintage they are bringing)
2003 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
2004 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
2005 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
2007 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
2010 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
2019 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
If you do not have a bottle of Chateau Angelus in your cellar we have a few vintages available here at Wine Watch.
Vintages of Chateau Angelus available at Wine Watch
2020 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
Price: $607.50 Your Price: $534.60
(98 Points) The flagship from this great estate, the 2020 Chateau Angelus checks in as 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in new barrels. It’s darker and more concentrated compared to the 2019, offering beautiful, medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of redcurrants, black raspberries, sandalwood, spring flowers, and smoked tobacco. With just about flawless balance, it's not the blockbuster style of a decade ago, but it has gorgeous purity, ultra-fine tannins, a round, seamless mouthfeel, and a great, great finish. It's very much in the classic, balanced, structured style of the vintage, and a solid 7-8 years of bottle age are recommended. It will have 30+ years of prime drinking. Best After 2030 Jeb Dunnuck
2019 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
Price: $600.00 Your Price: $528.00
(98 Points) Based on a final blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Château Angélus is knockout stuff, and while I'm not sure it matches the perfect 2018, it's not far off. Gorgeous notes of redcurrants, blueberries, sandalwood, dried flowers, vanilla, and forest floor are just some of its nuances, and it hits the palate with medium to full body, a perfectly balanced, seamless mouthfeel, beautifully ripe tannins, and a great, great finish. It doesn't have the sheer weight or richness of, say, the 1998, 2000, 2005, or even the 2009, but it doesn't lack for intensity or power, and it’s just a beautiful example of modern-day Saint-Emilion. It's already approachable (this was best on day two) yet will keep for another 30+ years. Best after 2022. Jeb Dunnuck
2016 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
Price: $615.00 Your Price: $541.20
(98 Points) Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2016 Angélus erupts from the glass with powerful notes of blackberry pie, ripe black cherries and juicy black plums with an undercurrent of star anise, rose petals, chocolate mint, pencil shavings and woodsmoke plus a waft of allspice. The palate is pure decadence. Medium to full-bodied, rich and generously fruited, this wine is by no means heavy—it positively glimmers with freshness and vivacity, lending an ethereal nature to all that richness and power, beautifully framed by velvety tannins and finishing with epic length. The generosity, layers and plushness make for an absolutely DELICIOUS drink right now, but I'd suggest waiting 3-5 more years for the fireworks to really begin. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2015 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion List Price: $645.00 Your Price: $567.60
2015 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion MAGNUM
Price: $1443.00 Your Price: $1269.84
(97 Points) 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! Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2011 Château Angelus - Premier Grand Cru Classé A - Saint-Emilion
Price: $637.50 Your Price: $561.00
(94 Points) The 2011 Angelus is another winner from Hubert de Bouard. Supple and sexy with lots of blueberry and black raspberry fruit intermixed with licorice, barbecue smoke and camphor, this medium to full-bodied, supple-textured, sexy effort offers delicious drinking now, and promises to become even better over the next decade. It should keep for 15 or more years. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Menu
Selection of cheese and Charcuterie
Portobello Mushroom Carpaccio and Tomato Tartar with herb de Provence aioli and Parmesan Toast
Venison Shumai with Bordeaux Reduction
Crispy Mallard duck breast with Juniper berry red wine reduction Lyonnaise potatoes and crème fraiche
Canelé cakes
You must have a bottle of Chateau Angelus to contribute to the dinner to attend this event. The fee for dinner is $150 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.
A bit of history about Chateau Angelus from one of the most compressive web pages on Bordeaux. www.thewinecellarinsider.com
Chateau Angelus has one of the longer histories in the St. Emilion appellation. The de Bouard family has a long history in the region. In fact, the de Bouard family has been in Bordeaux for more than 700 years. They arrived in St. Emilion in 1782. However, even though Chateau Angelus has been around for quite a while, the chateau does not have the same track record. Compared to the current owners, Angelus is mere baby having been born in 1782. That was the year when Georges de Bouard began purchasing vineyard land in the St. Emilion area. At the time, de Bouard was a Jurat, and a member of the Jurade of St. Emilion
Skipping ahead a few hundred years, Catherine de Bouard de Laforest began living at a St. Emilion property known as Chateau Mazerat at the close of the 18th century. The addition of 13 hectares of prime vineyard land acquired by Maurice de Bouard de La Forest further increased their holdings. Maurice de Bouard de La Forest continued adding more vineyard land and was soon referring to the property as Clos de L’Angelus. Over the years, more vines were added to the vineyard.
Angelus earned its name from a common, everyday event. On a daily basis, the people working their Bordeaux vineyards heard the sound of the bells from three local churches. That sound inspired the now famous name of the chateau as well as the logo and the sculpture of the logo that appears in the backyard of the property.
Chateau Angelus is still owned by the de Bouard family. In fact, since 1989, Angelus is considered one of the top estates in the entire Right Bank appellation. Hubert de Bouard is currently in charge of managing the family directed property. Today, all the children participate in running the estate. Prior to his tenure, the truth is, the property was not making wines as good as their terroir allowed. The estate had a reputation for having made great wines in the 1950’s. But by the 1960’s, the quality of wine being produced at the St. Emilion had slipped.
Hubert de Bouard joined the family business at Chateau Angelus after graduating from Bordeaux University, where he studied under the famed Professor Emily Peynaud. It took a while before things began turning around for Chateau Angelus. In years like 1982 and 1985, when the materials were there to make great wine, like many St. Emilion estates, Chateau Angelus under-performed.
Starting with the 1988 vintage, Hubert began rapidly turning things around at Angelus. He was one of the first Bordeaux wine makers to embrace fermenting in open top vats and conducting malolactic fermentation in small barrels. Hubert de Bouard began employing other techniques that were popular in Burgundy, but were not widely used at the time in Bordeaux. This included fermenting with whole berries, ageing on the lees, farming, harvesting and vinifying on a parel by parcel basis.
To further improve the wines of Chateau Angelus, Hubert de Bouard lowered yields, increased selection and began aging the wines in new, French oak barrels. de Bouard, a former pupil of Emile Peynaud insists he was, and is making Bordeaux wine at Angelus the way it was made during the 1950’s, but with a modern twist.
Shortly after de Bouard began running the property, he instituted another change. He changed the name from L’Angelus to Angelus. He said, “This allows the wine to show up first in alphabetized lists.” He was right!
The vineyards of Chateau Angelus cover 39 hectares. 27 of those hectares are classified with First Growth status. The vines are planted on two unique types of soil. They have terroir of clay with limestone and clay with sand and limestone that is located on the sloping hillsides. The vineyard is planted to 50% Merlot , 47% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon . This shows a continuing increase in the amount of Cabernet Franc in the vineyard and of course in the final blend as well. The vines average close to 38 years of age. The estate has old vines dating all the way back to 1918. While the oldest vines are Merlot, the estate has 10 hectares of Cabernet Franc that are more than 60 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that ranges from 6,500 to 8,000 plants per hectare. Newer plantings are the higher level of vine density.
Serious vineyard management techniques are practiced including debudding, followed by crop thinning in the summer and green harvesting. The vines are pruned using “Girondine” method, which leaves two canes. Vineyard practices remain traditional. Some rows are seeded with grass to reduce water.
The vine canopies allow the leafs to gain maximum sun exposure. The fruit is hand picked and sorted three times. In the vineyard, again after it’s been destemmed and a final time at the winery. Starting with the 2009 vintage, Hubert de Bouard’s pursuit to obtain the finest possible Bordeaux wine inspired him to add a line of 60 people to manually destem berry by berry. Hubert believes manual destemming helps the berries remain intact. It’s amazing watching two rows of destemmers, each 30 deep in people, working on the fruit, one berry at a time. Hubert de Bouard said, “Manual destemming helps the berries remain intact, while retarding oxygenation and retaining freshness”. de Bouard used this method for 20% of the 2009 crop. In 2010, they employed 150 workers to manually destem the grapes . With the additional workers, they came close to hand destemming half their crop!
From that point forward, destemming takes place using the cube. For storing, they were one of the first St. Emilion estates to embrace optical sorting technology. To ensure only the top grapes are used, an additional hand sorting takes place after the fruit is put through the optical sorter.
To make the wine of Chateau Angelus, the process starts with cold maceration that is seldom more than 5 days. Fermentation takes place in a combination of 24 temperature controlled vats of wood, stainless steel and concrete. There are 8 wood vats ranging in size from 70 to 75 hectoliters. There are 8 stainless steel vats, concrete and open top, oak vats. The vats are on average 70 hectoliters, with some smaller vats of 50 hectoliters. There are 9 concrete tanks as well. Everything in the cellar moves by gravity flow. After Malolactic fermentation in barrel is completed, the wine is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for between 18-24 months. The length of time depends on the vintage and its characteristics. On average, there are 8,500 cases of Chateau Angelus produced every vintage. The estate also produces a second Bordeaux wine, Le Carillon de l’Angelus.
Starting in 2007, Chateau Angelus introduced a third wine, Number 3 d’Angelus. Productions of the third wine is small with close to 800 cases per vintage. The de Bouard family own other estates in the Right Bank including; Chateau Bellevue in St. Emilion, La Fleur de Bouard in Lalande de Pomerol and Chateau de-Francs in Cotes de Francs . Hubert de Bouard consults numerous chateaux in the Medoc , Pessac Leognan , St. Emilion and Pomerol .
In June, 2012, Stephanie de Bouard-Rivoal, the daughter of Hubert de Bouard was named executive manager of the estate. That same year. September 6, 2012, Chateau Angelus was upgraded in the official 2012 St. Emilion Classification to Premier Grand Cru Classe A. Only 4 St. Emilion estates share that honor. To celebrate the upgrade in the classification, Chateau Angelus released the 2012 vintage in a special pitch black, colored bottle that was embossed with a 21.7 carat gold imprinted script. This design replaced their standard paper label. The unique design will only be used for the Chateau Angelus 2012 vintage. When the 2012 Angelus was first offered for sale as a future , the estate raised the price. A decision that was considered controversial, due to the moderate quality of the difficult vintage. However, prices for all back vintage of Chateau Angelus quickly moved up in the marketplace following their elevated status, vindicating their price increase.
Preceding and coinciding with the upgrade of the classification for Chateau Angelus, the estate finished a complete renovation of the property. Designed by the noted architect Jean-Pierre Errath, the massive project included the creation of new cellars, a reception center for guests, work on the chateau, business offices and the famous, Chateau Angelus Bell tower. A large part of the effort required extensive use of limestone blocks from the Frontenac quarries located in St. Emilion. It is estimated that the total cost of the renovations was close to 10 million Euros. Much of the work was completed in 2013, just in time for the 2013 harvest. The entire renovation of Chateau Angelus was finished in early 2014. The estates renovation is not the only new project Hubert de Bouard has been in involved with. In late 2013, the de Bouard family expanded their holdings in St Emilion when they purchased the restaurant, Logis de la Cadene. Logis de la Cadene has one of the longest histories in St. Emilion and having dined there, from personal experience I can honestly say, its one of the top restaurants in all of Bordeaux as well.
The style of Chateau Angelus is pure silk and velvet. It’s a rich, full bodied and concentrated, Bordeaux wine, offering silky, cashmere textures that’s filled with luscious, opulent, spicy dark fruit, licorice, spice and truffle that ages extremely well.
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/st-emilion/angelus/
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