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A big, dark beast from Hubert de Bouard, this is an Angelus that pulls no punches. Masses of ripe fruit, huge weight and pretty big alcohol mark this out as a wine of singular ambition. Perhaps won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but if you like your wine mouth-coatingly intense, you will love it.
The 2012 Angélus (55% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc) is inky bluish purple in color and exhibits blueberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with some licorice, charcoal and graphite. It is full-bodied, ripe, and a great, great success for this estate. The tannins are silky and soft, and the wine can be drunk now or over the next 15 or more years. Very tiny yields of 34 hectoliters per hectare rendered a wine with 14.5% alcohol. Drink 2015-2030.
95 points – Robert Parker (eRobertParker.com, April 2015)
Tasted blind as a vintage comparison at the Valandraud vertical, the 2012 Angelus has a forward and generous bouquet of mulberry, boysenberry, orange rind and slithers of tangerine. It is undoubtedly detailed and energetic, a subtle marine scent surfacing with continued aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded and supple tannin, slightly honeyed in texture yet with a keen line of acidity running through it. Impressive body and mass, yet primal, surly and broody. Perhaps only now is it starting to flex its muscles. This is a well crafted and opulent Saint Emilion with a long future ahead and it may warrant a higher score in the future. Those who cellar this for over a decade will see this in full flight. Tasted December 2016.
Dark and intense, with vivid tobacco and espresso notes coursing through, while the core of dark fig, black currant and blackberry fruit sits in reserve. Extra charcoal, burnished leather and warm stone notes all add range and texture on the finish, while a bolt of iron keeps everything pinned down. Needs a bit of time to soak up its oak. Best from 2018 through 2030. 9,165 cases made– James Molesworth (WineSpectator.com, March 2015)
Wet earth, blackberry and blue berry character on the nose. Full body, chewy tannins and a tangy finish. Needs time to soften. Tight and structured red. Better in 2018.
– jamessuckling.com, Feb 2015
Inky with black core. Sweet charred oak is the first impression. And the second. But there is finesse to the tannins and some nice (hidden) dark fruit. Firm grip on the finish and just about fresh, though it is very hard to judge this wine now when the oak is all dominant. Tannin texture is very fine and I am sure this will become elegant if you can be patient enough and wait for the oak to subside. Too oaky for my taste but I know it will be admired by others. Drink 2022-2035 – Julia Harding (jancisrobinson.com, April 2013)
The 2012 Angélus is an attractive wine, although it is lacking in the weight, tannin and overall intensity that are such signatures here. As such, the 2012 will drink well with minimal cellaring. Hints of dark red cherry, plum, spices, new leather and menthol are layered in the delicate finish. The 2012 is 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc. Drink 2018-2032.
– Antonio Galloni (vinous.com, Jan 2016)
Quality 890 | Brand 978 | Economics 967 |
buzz brand, investment staple
Quality: Above the average quality score of its peer group for the 2012 vintage, 870
Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 26 of the world's top wine lists, including Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Economics: Above its peer group average price of £101 for the 2012 vintage
Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 46,409 bottles
- www.wine-lister.com June 2017
Just a beauty, this continues to improve in bottle. Deeply colored, and already showing secondary notes of smoke, truffle, plums, cherries and flowers, the wine is full bodied, deep, silky, long and fresh. The endnote is completed by the dusty tannins and hit of dark chocolate. This is good now, and it's only going to get better from here! Give it another 7-8 years and this will just start singing... Tasted May 2017
Grilled cocoa bean and smoked earth, coupled with black pepper, blueberry, raspberry puree. Beautiful precision, primary fruits that feel similar to the 2009, still decades ahead of it, with a confident tannic frame that is wrapped in silk. Late harvest that only began on October 12, making the most of the brilliant late season. The year of promotion to premier grand cru classé A. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2044
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at Château Angélus, 02 Nov 2021)
Part of Bordeaux 2012: The top-rated wines tasted 10 years on
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