Château Angélus 2020 is a Saint-Émilion blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, with a tiny splash of Petit Verdot. Critics rated it highly on release, with 100 points from Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW and 98 from Jeb Dunnuck, and it is a wine for the cellar rather than the table now.
About This Wine
2020 was a warm, dry growing season, and Angélus picked between 15 and 30 September, before rain arrived at the end of the month. Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal described it as a meeting of 2018's richness and 2019's freshness. The wine spent about 22 months in barrel, but around 20% of the blend, Cabernet Franc, was aged in large foudres, which reduces the oak imprint compared with earlier vintages. The result is concentrated but fresh, with a chalky, mineral finish.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Cherry, raspberry and blackberry, with violets, liquorice, rose petal and black truffle.
- Palate: Medium to full-bodied and layered, with ripe, fine-grained tannins and lively tension.
- Finish: Very long, chalky and mineral, with floral lift.
Serving & Food
Keep it lying down until the early 2030s; Berry Bros suggests a window of 2033 to 2075. When you open it, decant for two to three hours and serve at 17°C in large Bordeaux glasses with roast rib of beef, lamb rack with rosemary, or a mushroom and truffle risotto.
How to Enjoy
Cellar planning, and long-term gifts for someone born or married in 2020.
Product Details
Producer: Château Angélus
Country: France
Appellation: Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux
Classification: Premier Grand Cru Classé A until 2022; withdrew from the classification
Vintage: 2020
Grape Blend: 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, a splash of Petit Verdot
ABV: 14.5%
Volume: 750mL
About the Château
Angélus lies on the south-facing slopes below the town of Saint-Émilion, on clay and limestone, with sandier soils at the foot of the slope. It belongs to the de Boüard de Laforest family; Hubert de Boüard led its rise from the 1980s, and his daughter Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal now runs it. The estate is unusual on the right bank for its high share of Cabernet Franc, planted in roughly equal parts with Merlot. Angélus was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A in 2012, then withdrew from the Saint-Émilion classification in January 2022.