Ch. Angelus
Grand Cru
Saint-Emilion
2009

The producer

Angelus is one of the largest and most prestigious chateaux in Saint-Emilion. Located in the western part of the heart of Saint-Emilion – directly west of the village itself – with 39 hectares of vineyards in one continuous piece on the slope directly downhill from Ch Beausejour-Duffau-Lagarrosse. Merlot grows in the cool limestone rich clay soils on the highest part of the slope, while Cabernet Franc grows in the warmer sand at the lower end. Named after the original 3.5 hectare ‘Clos L’Angelus’, Angelus has been owned by the de Bouard family since 1782 and is currently run by Stephanie de Bouard-Rivoal, who took over from her father Hubert in 2012.

Typically, the wine is a blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 50% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and is aged for around 18 months in 100% new barriques. Angelus – a richly layered red wine with deeply intense fruit set off by silky tannins – is also a favourite of the secret agent 007, starring in Casino Royale (the 1982 vintage) but also in Spectre and newly released No Time To Die (the 2005 vintage in both of the latter).

Angelus was promoted to ‘Premier Grand Cru Classe A’ status in 2012 and, in early 2022, made the announcement that they would no longer be participating in subsequent classifications.

The wine

Grape material is derived from organically grown vines, some of which were planted at the beginning of the 20^th century. The blend varies with vintage conditions but is typically a blend of 60% Merlot with 40% Cabernet Franc, sometimes also complemented with a little Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermentation takes place in a combination of wood, stainless steel, and concrete vats and is followed by malolactic fermentation and finally ageing for between 18-24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Angelus – a richly layered red wine with deeply intense fruit, set off by silky tannins – is a favourite of the secret agent 007, starring in Casino Royale (the 1982 vintage) but also in Spectre and newly released No Time to Die (the 2005 vintage in both of the latter).

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.