Angelus 2022 (375ML)

98-100 WI / 98-99 JS / 97-99 JD / 96-98 WA / 97 JA / 93-95 VM

Special bottle for the the 2022 vintage 

Exactly ten years after the famous black and gold bottle that held the 2012 vintage, the 2022 vintage of Château Angelus will go down in the history of the estate with an infinitely precious bottle in which enamel offers the most beautiful setting for gold and the motifs, inspired by the constellations and revolutions of the stars, are a poetic evocation of the start of a new cycle. - Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, Chateau Angelus

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. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

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. - James Suckling

Looking at the Grand Vin, the 2022 Château Angélus is based on 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot that will spend 22 months in new French oak, with a portion of the Cabernet Franc aged in foudre. This estate doesn't put a foot wrong, and this is clearly a profound Angélus with a deep purple, almost blue hue, extraordinary notes of cassis, blueberry liqueur, acacia flowers, and scorched earth, full-bodied richness, building tannins, and a dense, concentrated mid-palate, all of which is grounded by a vibrant sense of freshness and purity. While older vintages were more closed and backward on release, this has a certain accessibility given its balance and purity, and I suspect it will offer incredible pleasure right out of the gate. It will evolve for 40+ years as well.-Jeb Dunnuck

This estate's shift in the direction of gentler extraction and more reductive, less overtly oaky élevage continues, and this extreme vintage only underlines that. Fermented at cool temperatures (20 to 23 degrees Celsius), and with an increasing proportion of the wine's Cabernet Franc component matured in large wooden foudres, the 2022 Angélus wafts from the glass with deep aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with hints of iris, licorice and pencil lead. Full-bodied, deep and seamless, with a layered core of cool, vibrant fruit, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish, it's a brilliant young wine in the making. The 2022 is a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

Precision and freshness here, with fennel, aniseed, marzipan, cassis, incense, cigar, black cherry, mint leaf and ink, with a slow build of subtle aromatics, and a cooling uplift on the finish. An exceptional wine that will reward long ageing, but captures the luscious, exuberant quality of the vintage without ever stepping over the line. 100% new oak for the barrels, with 20% of the production (Cabernet Franc only) to be aged in larger oak casks. Organic farming (with their own farm growing produce for their restaurants and for vineyard treatments). This vintage also shows one of the benefits of leaving the classification, which has become official as of 2022 - the de Boüard family is able to expand the footprint for the main wine of Angélus this year with 3ha of Château Bellevue (which has now been officially split and passed entirely back into the hands of the co-owners the de Lavaud family), which brings some cool soil Merlot into the blend. Harvest September 6 to 28. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

The 2022 Angélus is racy and super-expressive right out of the gate. These days a more restrained style has become the norm at Angélus, and yet there is plenty of mid-palate pliancy and overall richness. As good as this is, the most impressive 2022s I tasted at Angélus were straight out of barrel, which makes me think the Grand Vin could perhaps be at another level with a bit more selection. Even so, the 2022 is quite alluring. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media