The 1998 Angélus, a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc and 60% Merlot, is deep garnet colored with a touch of brick. The nose is completely...WOW! It has an incredible array of smoked meats, incense, cigar box and dusty earth notions over a core of baked cherries, dried mulberries, preserved plums and dried roses with wafts of lavender, menthol and new leather. The palate is medium to full-bodied, rich, intense and packed with black fruit preserves accented by complex savory and earth-inspired flavors, supported by wonderful freshness, textured by plush tannins and finishing with fantastic tension. This still has loads of life—25+ more years! 98 points LPB
Another great showing for a Right Bank wine, the 1998 Angelus shows a saturated opaque, plum/purple color and a beautiful fragrance of blueberry and black raspberries with licorice, asphalt, truffle and a touch of white chocolate. Beautiful texture, full-bodied opulence, striking purity and overall equilibrium make for a stunning wine that is just entering its plateau of full maturity. Drink it over the next 20 years. Drink 2015-2035.
96 points – Robert Parker (eRobertParker.com, Aug 2015)

Yes, yes and yes! Hitting it just right, this hedonistic thrill ride shoots out of the glass with its majestic perfume packed with truffle, dried flowers, cocoa, forest floor, dark cherries, and plum liqueur. On the palate, the wine is rich, opulent, silky, full, and deep, with a finish that does not want to quit. An hour of air is more than ample here. You can drink this now and for at least another 15-20 more years after that! Tasted November 2021

The 1998 Angelus is a smoking wine that I suspect is just now entering its prime drink window. Made from a blend of mostly Merlot, with roughly 40% Cabernet Franc, aged two years in barrel, its deep ruby color is followed by a full-bodied, ripe, sexy wine that offers tons of chocolaty blackcurrant fruit, truffle, smoke herbs, and licorice. It’s a big, rich 1998 that’s still showing a kiss of oak, yet it freshens up beautifully with time in the glass, has sweet tannin, and a blockbuster finish. Drink it anytime over the coming two decades.

The 1998 Angelus has always been an impressive Saint-Émilion and at 20-years of age that has not changed in recent years. Showing the first signs of ageing on the rim, it has a glorious bouquet that is midway between primary and secondary aromas: cranberry, crushed strawberry and warm leather on an antique armchair; embers and a light marine tincture. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannin, a mixture of red and black fruit mixed with clove, cedar and a sprinkling of powdered dark chocolate. There remains a firm backbone to this Angelus: focused and precise. It is a wine to either drink now or age over the next 15 years. The choice is yours. Tasted at the château. May 2018

Intense aromas of coffee bean, chocolate and currant bush follow through to a full body, with soft and velvety tannins and a long and rich finish. The toasted oak still dominates the palate a bit, but it's rich and concentrated. Give it time still.88/98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2010. 6,665 cases made.
– JS (WineSpectator.com, 2009)

Deep ruby-red. Very complex aromas of plum, redcurrant, iron, mocha, cedar, milk chocolate and woodsmoke. Silky-sweet and voluptuous; very suave texture given shape by harmonious, ripe acids. Flavors are deep and complex. The thoroughly ripe tannins hit the palate quite late, allowing the strong fruit, mineral, chocolate and spice flavors to build. Today this shows more obvious balance and finesse than the massive young 2000.
– vinous.com, May 2001