Chateau Angelus 2016

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is a rich, perfumed wine, with dense tannins and intense layers of black plum and spice. The palate is firmly built yet broadened out by plump dark-fruit tones and honed by a solid, dry core. Drink from 2025."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Subtle and profound aromas of blackberries, wet earth and sweet tobacco. Hints of spice, too. Full-bodied and so deep. It’s incredibly vertical and long. Just like looking down a well. Firm and powerful tannins, yet polished and balanced. Goes on for minutes. One of the greatest ever. Try after 2025."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The 2016 Angelus is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc and has a deep garnet color, with a hint of purple. It needs a little swirling to unlock powerful notes of stewed black plums, blueberry preserves, and chocolate-covered cherries, giving way to notes of candied violets, star anise, and fertile loam, with a touch of cumin seed. Full-bodied, the palate is rich and concentrated, featuring loads of opulent black fruit flavors sparked by floral and exotic spice notes and textured with plush tannins, finishing with epically long, lingering, fragrant fruit. Such beautiful poise!"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "With deep color, the wine offers some truffle, earth, florae and dark, red pit fruits in the incense. On the palate, the wine has the feel of well-worn, fine hotel linen with refined, sexy fruits and concentration. There is vibrancy to the fruits and velvetiness to the texture, coupled with depth, complexity and length. The wine was made from a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. The Grand Vin represents 67% of the harvest."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2016 Angélus erupts from the glass with powerful notes of blackberry pie, ripe black cherries and juicy black plums with an undercurrent of star anise, rose petals, chocolate mint, pencil shavings and woodsmoke plus a waft of allspice. The palate is pure decadence. Medium to full-bodied, rich and generously fruited, this wine is by no means heavy—it positively glimmers with freshness and vivacity, lending an ethereal nature to all that richness and power, beautifully framed by velvety tannins and finishing with epic length. The generosity, layers and plushness make for an absolutely DELICIOUS drink right now, but I'd suggest waiting 3-5 more years for the fireworks to really begin."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, fester Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, feine Edelholnuancen, zart nach Gewürznelken und Kardamom, florales Parfum, feine schwarze Beerenfrucht, ein Hauch von Mandarinenzesten, voller Noblesse. Stoffig, engmaschig, ohne zu kraftvoll oder opulent zu wirken, perfekt sitzende Tannine, von großer Tragweite, wird am Gaumen immer länger, Brombeeren und Nougat im Abgang, mineralisch und lang, ein Vin de Garde, den man gut verstecken muss, weil er schon jetzt so viel zu bieten hat."

WEINWISSER: "60 % Merlot und 40 % Cabernet Franc. Tiefes Purpur mit lila Rand. Komplexes, enorm tiefgründiges Bouquet mit blauen Beeren, dahinter steigen nach und nach Veilchen und Brombeeren sowie Kokos- und Lakritznoten auf. Am kraftvollen Gaumen zündet er ein regelrechtes Feuerwerk mit Heidelbeeren, Edelhölzern und Kirschtabak ab, macht sich mit seiner enormen Konzentration ganz breit am Gaumen, dabei hüllt er das bereits abgerundete Tanningerüst mühelos in seinen grossen Extrakt ein, ewig langes Finale. Die perfekte Symbiose aus Kraft und Finesse!"

DECANTER: "A wonderful Angélus, rich in the character of this vintage. Stunning length on the silky tannins. This extends outwards, and the architecture is very much more linear than circular (as it is in some vintages), with a lovely freshness and power. I just love how effortless this feels, with deeply intense black fruits and a dried herb edge. The flesh isn´t overt but absolutely present. Likely to take on some more weight over time and it will certainly take its time to reach its perfect drinking window. Wonderful sense of energy, power and intensity, yet it´s so drinkable now. The 100% new oak is very well-integrated, a brilliant success. Blend is 60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, with the lowest pH for many years at 3.7 (the 2009 more like 3.9), mainly because the wide temperature differences between day and night slowed down the maturing process and kept freshness."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2016 Château Angélus is incredibly elegant and finesse-driven, with a soaring perfume of crème de cassis, white flowers, crayon, forest floor, and spice. Compared to the 1996 by the Angélus team, it has a deep, layered style, its oak is beautifully integrated, there are ample tannins, and despite leaning toward the finesse-driven side of the spectrum, it has thrilling depth of fruit and length. It’s a brilliant wine from this estate that will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 30+ years or more. The blend of the 2016 is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, brought up all in new French oak."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This goes for the gusto, with a deep and broad swath of well-roasted tobacco, espresso and loam out front. The core of dark currant and fig fruit will have to catch up, but this red has the energy and juicy drive to eventually do so. When it melds fully, this will be a smoky, alluring, tobacco-fueled wine. Best from 2024 through 2040. 8,333 cases made."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Very direct and focused. Sweet and rich and velvety. Lots of alcohol. Not the most refreshing but certainly impressive. Slightly hot end."