Last week we were delighted to receive our old friend Hubert de Bouard at Farr Vintners for a chat and a tasting of some of his wines. Hubert has been making the wine at Chateau Angelus since the mid 1980's and he has undoubtedly transformed this property from a previous "also-ran" into one of the very top Chateaux of Saint Emilion, and indeed one of the best of the entire Bordeaux region.
Hubert talks us through the line-up
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First up at the tasting was La Fleur de Bouard 2009. Hubert purchased this Lalande de Pomerol property (formerly known as La Fleur Saint Georges) in 1995 and in 1998/1999 there was a lot of re-planting of the vineyard. The new vines have only been used for the main label since 2008. The encepagement is 85% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This had a deep colour and was full of sexy black cherry fruit. Very opulent and impressive.
This was followed by 2009 Le Plus de la Fleur de Bouard. This is a wine that we do not get to taste very often. Hubert told us that the first vintage was 2000 and his inspiration for making it was Guigal's legendary Côte Rôtie La Mouline. The fruit is sourced from 70 year old Merlot vines with yields of just 15 hl/ha from the 2 or 3 bunches per vine. It spends an extraordinary 34 months in new oak barrels before bottling. The maximum production per vintage is only 3000 bottles. This wine had a remarkable nose of coconut and chocolate. Amazing concentration but Hubert explained that this was down to the age of the vines and the low yields - no concentration techniques (eg bleeding or reverse osmosis) are used in the wine-making process.
Hubert with Hubert on the wall
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The next wine was the great 2009 Angélus itself. This was made from 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc with a yield of 36 hl/ha from vines that are an average 43 years old. The wine is superbly rich and fruity but has great balance too, which Hubert explained was thanks to the Cabernet Franc component. There is a kick of tannin at the finish. Very long and clearly a great wine that will need several years until it's ready to drink, despite its obvious charms.
We then tried 2008 Bellevue. This property is located next to Angelus but is planted with 100% Merlot. This was Hubert's first vintage at Bellevue and whilst it has an impressive depth of chunky Merlot fruit it doesn't seem to have much complexity yet, certainly difficult to taste following Angelus 2009.
The wines of Hubert de Bouard line up to be tasted
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Next up was Angelus 2005 which has 45% Cabernet Franc in the blend in this vintage. This wine has great depth and power with a firm structure and some serious tannins. Although 4 years older than the 2009 one suspects that it might not be ready until after that vintage. A wine of real classic structure and breeding, and above all, balance.
We finished off with the famous 2000 Angelus. This has an incredibly opulent, wafting nose that is jam-packed with sweet ripe fruit aromas. On the palate it is sumptuous and just about ready to drink. Only just starting to open out and reveal its charms, this will make great drinking over the next 20 years and beyond. There is sensational richness and opulence here but structure too and a very long finish.
Hubert de Bouard and Stephen Browett
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Hubert revealed that he consults for wineries all over the world in places as far afield as South Africa, the Lebanon and even for a vineyard in Thailand. Nevertheless, we get the feeling that his heart is here at Angelus and this tasting re-enforced our view that this is one of Bordeaux's greatest wines.
