Château Angélus: 2 rare verticals, including 4 “Perfect” wines
Château Angélus
The Angel of Saint-Émilion
Founded in Saint-Émilion in 1782 and owned by the de Boüard family for eight generations
This exclusive dinner offers a rare opportunity to explore 14 wines spanning more than two decades from Château Angélus, one of Bordeaux's most celebrated estates.
At its heart is an exceptional vertical tasting of the château's flagship wine, Château Angélus 1er Grand Cru Classé:
2022 | 2019 | 2018 | 2015 | 2009 | 2005
4 of these wines, receiving 100 Points from the world's leading critics.
Complementing the Grand Vin is a fascinating six-vintage vertical of Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2016 | 2015
"The 2022 Angélus is one of the finest wines ever made at this estate."
Georgina Hindle, Decanter
"One of the greatest wines of Saint-Émilion, combining richness, power and extraordinary finesse."
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (of the ’22 Château Angélus 1er Grand Cru Classé)
"Along with the 2005, the 2009 is the greatest Angélus I've ever tasted."
Jeb Dunnuck (of the ’09 Château Angélus 1er Grand Cru Classé)
One of only a handful of estates to achieve the coveted Premier Grand Cru Classé A classification, Angélus has earned an extraordinary reputation for excellence. Across four decades, the château has amassed a remarkable collection of perfect scores, 1989, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2022 all receiving 100-point ratings from the world's leading critics. 4 of which will be tasted at this exclusive dinner.
Wednesday, July 1st
Hosted by Bong Grelat, Export Manager for Château Angélus
Dinner: 6.30–9.30pm, 14 Wines & 4 Courses, $1,450 Limited to 12 seats
Château Angélus - The Angel of Saint-Émilion
Few estates have risen as dramatically in Bordeaux over the past half-century as Château Angélus. Located on the famed limestone and clay slopes of Saint-Émilion, Angélus is today regarded as one of the great names of Bordeaux and a benchmark for Cabernet Franc-led wines on the Right Bank.
The estate has been in the hands of the de Boüard de Laforest family for more than a century, with the family's roots in Bordeaux stretching back several centuries. The modern history of Angélus was shaped by Hubert de Boüard, who joined the family estate in 1976 after studying oenology in Bordeaux. Through meticulous vineyard work, lower yields, later harvesting and a relentless pursuit of quality, he transformed Angélus from a respected Saint-Émilion property into one of the region's elite estates.
The name "Angélus" comes from the Angelus bells that could once be heard ringing simultaneously from three nearby churches across the vineyards. The sound inspired the estate's name and iconic bell emblem, earning Château Angélus the affectionate nickname "The Angel of Saint-Émilion" and creating one of the most recognisable labels in the wine world.
Angélus achieved a unique place in Bordeaux history by becoming the only Saint-Émilion estate to be promoted twice through the classification system: first to Premier Grand Cru Classé B in 1996 and then to the highest rank, Premier Grand Cru Classé A, in 2012. At the time, it joined the legendary ranks of Ausone and Cheval Blanc at the pinnacle of Saint-Émilion.
Today, the estate is led by Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, representing the eighth generation of the family. Under her leadership, Angélus has continued to evolve,
embracing organic viticulture while maintaining its distinctive style built around Merlot and one of the highest proportions of Cabernet Franc in Saint-Émilion.
The wines have earned extraordinary acclaim from critics around the world. Recent vintages have received multiple perfect 100-point scores from Jeb Dunnuck, Decanter and other leading publications, while the 2018, 2009 and 2005 vintages are widely considered among the greatest wines ever produced by the estate. Angélus is celebrated for combining power, richness and longevity with increasing finesse, precision and freshness.
From the approachable Tempo d'Angélus and Le Carillon d'Angélus to the iconic Grand Vin itself, every wine reflects the same commitment to excellence that has defined the family for generations.
For collectors and wine lovers alike, Château Angélus stands as one of Bordeaux's modern legends — a family estate whose wines continue to set the benchmark for Saint-Émilion.
Adapted from information published by Château Angélus and supplemented with research from Club Oenologique, The Wine Cellar Insider and Wine Folly.
Remarkable Pedigree of Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
“One of the greatest wines of Saint-Émilion, combining richness, power and extraordinary finesse.” William Kelley, Wine Advocate
“The 2018 Château Angélus blew me away from bottle. Pure perfection.” Jeb Dunnuck
“This is a powerful Angélus, with incredible energy and depth. So attractive now, but it will age forever.” James Suckling
“The 2022 Angélus is one of the finest wines ever made at this estate.” Georgina Hindle, Decanter
“The 2019 Angélus is every bit as impressive as it was from barrel. Silky, nuanced and beautifully balanced.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“Along with the 2005, the 2009 is the greatest Angélus I've ever tasted.” Jeb Dunnuck
As one of only a handful of estates to have achieved the coveted Premier Grand Cru Classé A status in Saint-Émilion, Château Angélus occupies a place among Bordeaux's greatest wines. Under eight generations of family ownership, the de Boüard family has transformed Angélus into one of the world's most admired estates, renowned for wines that unite the opulence of Merlot with one of the highest proportions of Cabernet Franc in Saint-Émilion.
The château's modern reputation has been built on an extraordinary run of critically acclaimed vintages. Perfect 100-point scores have been awarded to Angélus across four decades, including the legendary 1989, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2022 vintages. Few Bordeaux estates can claim such a record of sustained excellence.
Remarkably, four of the wines featured in this offer — 2005, 2009, 2018 and 2022 — have each received perfect 100-point scores from leading international critics. Together they represent some of the most celebrated wines ever produced at Angélus and highlight why the estate is regarded as one of the defining names of modern Bordeaux.
FOUR DECADES OF PERFECTION
2022, 100 Points - Georgina Hindle, Decanter
2018, 100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
2015, 99-100 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
2010, 100 Points - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
2009, 100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
2005, 100 Points - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com
2000, 100 Points - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
1989, 100 Points - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
The Wine List
2023 Château Angélus Tempo d'Angelus
Racy fruit with hawthorn, rose hips, red berries and cherries. Linear, with a nice structure, but nothing heavy from the fruit flesh in the middle. Fine-grained, with medium body and a chewy but juicy finish. Needs two more years to allow the fruit tannins to round off. More bones than flesh this year.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
2023 Château Angélus Clos du Milieu
Clos du Milieu is sourced from a single plot, entirely planted with Merlot, bordered by hedgerows. This new cuvée whose vines are situated in the centre of our vineyard in the commune of Castillon-la-Bataille, just a few kilometres from Saint-Emilion, in the magnificent cool, deep clay-limestone soils of the upper slope, displays freshness, tension et density. The Clos du Milieu offers the finest expression of Merlot and gives an elegant, structured wine with good ageing potential.Chateau Angelus, Winemaker
First course
2022 Château Angélus Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
The 2022 Le Carillon d'Angélus is a rich, boisterous wine. Succulent dark cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather and licorice are nicely pushed forward. Racy and pliant, the 2022 Carillon is showing quite well in this tasting.
93 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous (April 2023)
Aromas of fresh herbs, such a basil and lemon grass, come through here, together with blackberries, dark plums and some orange peel. Medium-boded with medium, velvety tannins that provide layers and a polished texture. It's long and creamy with lovely fruit at the end. A beautiful wine with a pretty structure, too.
93 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
2020 Château Angélus Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
Cedar and floral with dried rose petals and plums with some cherries and fresh tobacco. Medium to full body. Linear and tight with fresh and fine tannins. Chocolate and hazelnut. 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. Second wine of Angelus. Give it four to five years.
95 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (December 2025)
2019 Château Angélus Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
Redcurrant, sweet-tobacco, bark and earth aromas follow through to a full body with a creamy texture of crushed stone and pure fruit at the end. It’s tight and pure with beautiful finesse and mouth-feel. 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc. Second wine of Angelus. Try after 2026.
95 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
This is the vintage where you start to see the results of the new plots for Carillon (one near Cheval Blanc and another in St Colombe), with supple berry fruits and floral aromatics, along with softly brushed tannins and smoke. This is elegant and well paced, with plenty of espresso and cocoa bean gourmet edging. Bottled May. 60% new oak. 20ha now dedicated to Carillon d’Angélus (with 5ha going into both Carillon and No 3 d’Angélus). New cellar for first time, reflecting the fact that since 2014 there have been plots dedicated only to these two wines.
93 Points - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
Second course
2018 Château Angélus Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
Beautifully expressive aromatics, really jump from the glass, alive and nuanced, floral, fruity - rosehip, cranberry, cardamom, cinnamon. Supple and lithe, this has movement to it which is so nice. Not super tense and straight, not dense and chewy, somewhere in-between with bright, mouth-watering acidity that lifts the expression. Hints of chalky minerality on the finish brings it back to focus with a moreish aspect. Tannins are great, barely noticeable but still giving the frame and support to the structure. Well delivered. Gorgeous purity, balance and harmonious, really lovely drinking here.
93 Points - Georgina Hindle, Decanter (at Bordeaux, 01 Dec 2023)
2016 Château Angélus Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
Still young, far more so than the 2015, and you really see Carillon d'Angélus taking a step forward in precision - something that has been maintained since this vintage. A touch of reduction on the first nose, quickly clears to show plump black cherry fruits, liquorice and spices. They were looking to pick slightly earlier at this point to increase freshness and ageing potential, and you can see the results. A brilliant quality Carillon with huge sculpting and potential. 70% new oak.
94 Points - Jane Anson, Decanter (at Château Angélus, 02 Nov 2021)
2015 Château Angélus Le Carillon de l'Angélus, Grand Cru Classé
This wine comes from part of the Angélus estate that is not classified, as well as wines that are not considered right for Château Angélus. The result is an accessible, ripe wine packed with red fruits, soft tannins and attractive, juicy acidity. The wine will be ready to drink from 2024.
92 Points - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast (Tasted Jan 2018)
Third course
2022 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
The 2022 Château Angélus is made up of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc with a pH of 3.65. Deep garnet-purple colored, it prances out of the glass with flamboyant notes of red currant jelly, wild blueberries, cassis, and candied violets, followed by suggestions of jasmine tea, star anise, and crushed rocks. The full-bodied palate is impactful from first sip, yet slowly expands in the mouth, ultimately over-delivering on the nose's promise with layer upon layer of perfumed black and red fruits, supported by super fine-grained, silt-like tannins, finishing long and achingly shimmery.
98-100 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent (May 2023)
A vintage of precision and aromatic purity, this is one of the finest Angelus wines ever made. A blend of 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, the nose is heady and complex, filled with dark chocolate, cherries, blackcurrants, violets, and rose. On the palate, it's silky, scintillating, and fresh, with a crystalline clarity and balance that feels almost effortless. Chalky yet creamy tannins add depth, while flashes of heat and liquorice spice on the finish bring structure and length. Juicy, deep, and incredibly moreish, this dances across the palate with finesse and vibrancy. A wine of energy, persistence, and sheer sophistication. 100% new oak (50% Cab Franc in foudre). 3.7 pH. 75 IPT. Organic.
100 Points - Decanter
So many beautiful primary fruit aromas. Al dente. Peaches. Very floral. Aromatic. Full-bodied and extremely fine tannins with length and beauty that show incredible depth. Superb brightness and reality. Exciting. Cabernet franc freshness and dynamics come through now, even though the blend is 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc.
99 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
2019 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
The 2019 Angélus has a sophisticated bouquet with extraordinarily pure blackberry, raspberry, inkwell and crushed iris petals scents, like the Carillon but HD in terms of its clarity. The palate is beautifully defined on the entry, the Cabernet component steering it towards say, Figeac or Cheval Blanc stylistically. It already feels very harmonious, the satin-like texture is supported by real substance and grip on the finish, perhaps more density than some of its peers. This is an outstanding Angélus, one likely to surpass the 2016, a wine that will give 30-40 years of pleasure, maybe more. 2026 - 2060.
98 Points - Neal Martin, Vinous
2018 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
“This year we have slightly less Cabernet Franc in the blend because we are only using the oldest vines, planted by my grandfather, as a tribute,” Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal said. “These are 60- to 80-year-old Cabernet Franc vines.” From 2018, 10% of the entire Angélus crop will be aged in large oak foudres. “These produce tighter, more perfumed, brighter wines from less oxygen exposure,” Stéphanie commented. The 2018 Angélus is blended of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, to be aged 18-22 months in barriques, 100% new, plus two new foudres. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slips slowly, sensuously out of the glass with beautiful black raspberries, kirsch, warm plums and red roses scents, building in intensity to reveal chocolate-covered cherries, raspberry coulis, black tea, woodsmoke and powdered cinnamon notions with a waft of black olives and charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers a wonderfully profound, multilayered, seamless experience of red and black fruits intertwined with earth, spice and floral notions and framed by exquisitely ripe, satiny tannins, finishing with amazing freshness and length. Incredibly, finely, expertly, seamlessly knit. Stunning.
97-100 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate (Apr 24, 2019)
Sweet tobacco and black olives with some basil and terra cotta. Violets and dark berries, too. Very fine and linear with freshness and beauty. Full and very tight with beautiful depth. It goes on for a very long time. Best after 2025, but seductive now.
98 Points - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (Jul 15, 2022)
96–98. Barrel Sample. This is a dense, smoky wine, packed with ripe tannins and a line of fresh acidity that forms a fine contrast. It's a great wine that is rich in tannins while keeping elegance and finesse.
96-98 Points - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast
2015 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
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!
97 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
2009 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
A candidate for perfection with a few more years of bottle age, this great vintage of Angelus has an almost impenetrable black/purple color and a gorgeous nose of incense, graphite, blackberry liqueur, truffles and spring flowers. The wine is full-bodied, with a voluptuous texture a magnificent concentration and purity of fruit, a stunning finish of close to a minute, and wonderfully sweet, velvety tannins that make for a prodigious Angelus that should turn out to be one of the all-time greats ever made at this estate. Drink it over the next 25-50 years.
99+ Points - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Aug 28, 2015)
Blended of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet colored 2009 Angélus sings of blackberry preserves, warm black cherries, stewed plums and dried herbs with hints of Chinese five spice, fragrant earth, truffles and new leather. Full, rich, spicy and decadent in the mouth, it has a plush, velvety texture and well-knit freshness, finishing very long with tons of spicy layers.
99 Points - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate
2005 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé
Truly great stuff, this wine performed at a three-digit level both in the horizontal tasting of 2005s in Baltimore, as well as in Montreal at this mini-vertical. This sensational, opaque, bluish/purple wine offers up notes of vanillin, spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur, plus a touch of licorice. The wine hits the palate with a thunderous cascade of ripe, rich, concentrated fruit. It is full-bodied, multidimensional and layered. The tannins are beautifully integrated but still present, and the wood, acidity, alcohol, etc., are all beautifully assimilated in this magnificent, majestic vintage of Angelus. It can be drunk now, but it is still an adolescent and that suggests it has at least another 25-35 years of longevity.
100 Points - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Aug 28, 2015)
45% merlot, 55% cabernet franc. Great wine from an excellent vintage. Moderately fleshy wine with rich, rounded tannins supporting dark berry, dark-fleshed plum, dried fruits, Christmas cake, chocolate/mocha, coffee and new leather characters. It has the sort of density I expect from old vines. Decant for three hours says the winemaker.
99 Points - Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review (11 Jun 2018)
The 2005 Château Angelus has been absolute pure perfection every time I've been lucky enough to taste it, surpassing the 1990 and rivaling the 2009 and 2018. Based on 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, it has a dense ruby/plum hued to go with mammoth-sized aromatics of red and black currants, smoked tobacco, scorched earth, truffle, and smoke. Incredibly concentrated, full-bodied, and massively concentrated, it has beautiful tannins and flawless balance. While I certainly appreciate the slightly more dialed back, finesse-driven style of Angelus today, tasting this sensational, singular beauty makes me miss this powerful, more opulent style.
100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
Fourth course