Chateau Angelus 2019

In this vintage, the Merlot has given our wine an opulent texture and succulent fruit, while our Cabernet Franc has brought freshness and tension. We chose to vinify with delicate extractions in order to preserve the brightness of the wine’s character and the purity of its fruit. The barrel-ageing process is ongoing, and the wine seems to be absorbing the tannins of the oak barrels without losing any of its bright fruit character or its balance. It possesses the depth, balance, tension and energy to be a vintage of great complexity and have an ageing potential worthy of the greatest years.

Blend: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc

98 Points - James Suckling

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. Best after 2029.

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck

Based on a final blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Chateau Angelus 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.

97 Points - Decanter

A supremely elegant Angelus full of power. Here the quality of the fruit and the depth of plum, damson, black cherry and cassis is evident, along with tension, freshness - a slow melding of flavour through the palate with concentration and depth. Licorice root and baked earth come in from the mid-palate, and this has the feeling of a being a serious wine that is going to go the distance. The exuberance and confidence of Angelus come as it opens, with the flavours and texture fattening up. The wine will be aged for one year 30hl new oak casks and then go into barrel but without new oak for the last 10 months. The low pH means maybe a little less fleshy than usual with Angelus, certainly less so than the 2018. This gets better and better in the glass, strongly recommend giving this time.

96 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Angelus bursts from the glass with a rich, dramatic nose of cherries, licorice, sweet spices and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, layered and vibrant, its broad and velvety attack segues into a layered, concentrated mid-palate that's underpinned by tangy acids and fine, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. It's a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. Its seamless, pure profile reflects the subtle shift chez Angelus away from the rich, toasty style of the 1990s and 2000s toward greater elegance and precision. Best after 2026.