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Angélus 2014

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

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Label

Tasting Notes

Wow. This is really decadent and fascinating with forest flowers, chocolate, tea and currants on the nose, which follows through to a firm and silky palate with lots of fruit and balance. Very long and beautiful. Citrusy undertones. Needs five or six years of bottle age to show it all.

96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2017

Deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Angelus bursts on the scene with bold suggestions of baked plums and blackberry preserves followed by hints of sandalwood, cigar box, and cardamom. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and plush, with great tension to lend lift though the long earthy finish.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, March 2024

Tasted blind. Mellow, gentle, sweet, milk-chocolate notes. Easy to like with a bit of heat on the end. But it too lacks real persistence. Bit of char and lots of sweetness and spice.
Drink 2023-2040

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2018

This has a dense, muscular core of warm blackberry, black currant and fig paste flavors, shrouded under a cloak of tobacco and loam. Not shy on toast and balanced by a hefty ganache edge, this isn't heady at all, just a terrific expression of the muscular, loamy style. Best from 2026 through 2040. 8,335 cases made.

95
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, February 2017

Deeply coloured and substantially oaked, the 2014 Angélus flirts with faintly cakey, over-ripe notes, but gets away with it. It's a big, bold, quite extrated wine with plenty of sweetness and texture and smooth, fine-grained tannins. Impressive stuff from Hubert de Bouärd and his team.

95
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2015
Read more tasting notes...

The Château Angelus 2014, a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot was picked between 2 and 22 October over a 3-week period. It has a surprisingly bashful nose at first, not one that comes racing out of the blocks to greet you. But there is plenty of fruit here, beautifully defined, a little more introverted than usual possibly due to the higher percentage of Cabernet Franc. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, linear in style with a saline note complementing that lattice of black fruit. It gently builds towards the spicy, slightly compact finish but never fully let’s go, the Cabernet Franc lending a slight savory edge on the aftertaste. This will probably need three of four years in bottle as this is slightly harder compared to recent vintages with more backbone. Yet it still constitutes an admirable Saint Emilion even if it does not ignite the same pyrotechnics as say, Pavie or Ausone. Drink: 2020 - 2040

91/93
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com (218), April 2015

This is dense and compacted with pretty fruits, ultra fine tannins and a pure and intense finish. The excellent quality of the cabernet franc really shows here. Lightly salty with citrusy acidity. Chalky undertone. Half cabernet franc and half merlot. So about 10% more franc than normal.

93/94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2015

Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2014 Angélus needs a fair bit of coaxing to begin to reveal very pretty aromas of lilacs, kirsch, redcurrant jelly and Black Forest cake plus nuances of graphite and menthol. The palate is delicately intense with soft spoken floral and earth notes complimenting the black fruits, supported by ripe, rounded tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long with compelling restraint. Sporting a good amount of tertiary nuances, it can be enjoyed right now, but make sure to decant it a good 1.5 to two hours prior to drinking. 2020 - 2045

94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (October 20), October 2020

50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc, picked 2-22 October.
Very dark crimson. Not very expressive on the nose though there seems to be great density underneath. And then almost painful concentration. Verging towards Pavie, tar stew with lots of acidity. It may evolve into something lovely but for the moment it's very hard work. Very dry end. Masses of effort has been put into this but it is not user-friendly at present. 13.6%
Drink 2025-2040

16.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2015
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.