Chateau Angelus 2020

JAMES SUCKLING: "Blackberry and plum character with chocolate, too. Oyster shell. Full and very firm with a linear sensibility. Tight and powerful. Very pure fruit. Tension and energy there. Polished tannins. Some coffee bean and chocolate. Give this at least five or six years. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. Try after 2028."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Everything that makes Chateau Angelus great is here in spades! The wine is almost opaque in color. In the glass, the perfume pops with its essence of black, dark red and blue fruit, smoke, licorice, flowers, espresso, chocolate and an array of spices. The wine is full-bodied, intense, silky, vibrant and concentrated with multiple-layers of perfectly ripe, sweet, cashmere textured fruits. The wine builds, expands and intensifies on your palate. The fruit offers purity and lift in the seamless finish that lingers for close to 60 seconds. Give this some time in the cellar and it will probably hit triple digits. It is that good! Drink from 2026-2060."

WEINWISSER: "60 % Merlot, 40 % Cabernet Franc, Lesebeginn 15.9., pH: 3.5 - 3.64, Ende war 30.09. 14.5 vol 5 Alkohol, 40 hl/ha. Konzentriert mit guter Frische, Energie, 3 (-4) Fuder von Taransaud für Cabernet Franc um die zarten Aromen zu behandeln, da sehr sensibel gegen Oxidation, seit drei Jahren. Dichtes Purpur mit zartem lila Rand. Vielschichtiges Bouquet mit betörendem Veilchenparfüm, rote Kirsche und Lakritze. Im zweiten Ansatz Alpenheidelbeeren, edle Cassiswürze und heller Tabak. Am sublimen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, stützendes Tanningerüst, vibrierende Rasse die den Kraftprotz sehr elegant wirken lässt. Im energiegeladenen Finale ein voller Korb mit blauen Waldbeeren, Holundersaft und edler Adstringenz. "Es ist alles da," meint ein stolzer Hubert – "aber von nichts zu viel, alles in Harmonie". Ein eleganter, femininer Angélus, der zu bezaubern weiß."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The flagship from this great estate, the 2020 Château Angelus checks in as 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in new barrels. It’s darker and more concentrated compared to the 2019, offering beautiful, medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of redcurrants, black raspberries, sandalwood, spring flowers, and smoked tobacco. With just about flawless balance, it's not the blockbuster style of a decade ago, but it has gorgeous purity, ultra-fine tannins, a round, seamless mouthfeel, and a great, great finish. It's very much in the classic, balanced, structured style of the vintage, and a solid 7-8 years of bottle age are recommended. It will have 30+ years of prime drinking."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2020 Angélus has turned out superbly and underlines this estate's continuing shift to a more elegant, integrated style that offers a purer expression of its terroir. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, it unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, wild berries, rose petals, mint and subtle hints of licorice, followed by a medium to full-bodied, beautifully layered and vibrant palate that's deep, precise and penetrating, concluding with a mouthwateringly chalky finish. Some 120 hectoliters of Cabernet Franc, amounting to around 20% of the blend, were matured in foudre this year, which no doubt helps to account for the significantly reduced oak impact in the 2020."

DECANTER: "A deep and rich nose, but so pure, clear and clean, it smells beautiful. The aromas really shine in the glass, too, with a texture that is smooth and supple, giving and generous. A powerful wine with excellent persistence from start to finish. Extremely youthful, tense and focused into one sleek line and, although you get ripe fruit – black berries, cassis, with some gorgeous bitter orange peel nuances – there’s so much minty freshness too. Concentration but no overt heaviness, discreet power. I love the chalky, milk chocolate nuances – well built and complex with a clear backbone and long ageing potential. Brilliant winemaking on show."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Frische rote Waldbeernuancen, Rote Johannisbeeren, feine Kräuterwürze, ein Hauch von Edelholz, floraler Touch von Rosenöl, Veilchen, Orangenzesten sind unterlegt. Saftige rote Kirschfrucht, pfeffrig unterlegte Textur, frisch strukturiert, ein Hauch von schwarzem Tee, mineralisch, wirkt leichtfüßig, verfügt über gute Länge und sicheres Entwicklungspotenzial, ein subtiler Angélus, der sich wunderbar in die Trilogie der letzten Jahre einfügt."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Darkest crimson. Pure, fragrant dark fruits. Finely scented on the nose and palate. Fresh, succulent, refined and light on its feet even though it has drive and length. An aromatic beauty."