Château Angélus - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2009

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe1/1/2013

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. There is wonderful clarity on the nose of the Angelus 2009: baked cherry, kirsch, honeyed notes and a touch of violet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. There is a lovely grainy texture with hints of sweet toffee infusing the plush red fruit. There is good tension and superb vigour on the finish. Excellent. Tasted January 2013.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

95 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe7/31/2012

Deep, saturated ruby to the rim. Superripe, high-toned aromas of kirsch and dark chocolate. Large-scaled, ripe and chocolatey, conveying a distinctly exotic character and an impression of power. Finishes with huge but ripe tannins and a lingering note of mocha. For the first 24 hours in the bottle the vintage dominated the wine's cabernet franc character, but eventually blackberry, violet and licorice elements emerged. Built for a long life in bottle.

Wine Advocate

99 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/29/2012

A candidate for one of the finest Angelus produced to date (and there have been many, including 1989, 1990, 2000 and 2005), this blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc was fashioned from tiny yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare. It boasts a black/purple color along with a gorgeous perfume of blueberry liqueur, spring flowers and graphite. In the mouth, notes of incense and cassis also emerge from this velvety-textured, full-bodied, intensely concentrated 2009. With silky tannins, low acidity and spectacular purity, texture and depth, it is already approachable (although I’m sure proprietor Hubert de Bouard would think drinking it now is akin to infanticide), but should keep for 20-30+ years.

Jamessuckling.com

97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2012

Gorgeous nose of crushed blackberries with bramble berries and sweet tobacco. Full-bodied, with a solid core of ripe fruit and polished tannins. Compacted texture. Long, long finish. Try in 2020.

Wine Spectator

96 / 100

byJames Molesworththe1/18/2012

Rich and rather stolid now, this features a wall of roasted apple wood and charcoal flavors in front of the dense core of black Mission fig, steeped black currant fruit and espresso notes. Extremely dense on the finish, but the inlaid spice and tobacco hints are there just beneath the surface, needing only extended cellaring to emerge fully. One of the larger-scaled efforts of the vintage. Best from 2018 through 2035. –JM

Le Figaro

95-97 / 100

byBernard Burtschythe6/30/2010

Elaboré avec 60 % de merlot et 40 % de cabernet-franc, Angelus est un vin très plein et charnu qui est sa marque de fabrique, mais sous un abord de grand style sans trop en faire. C’est peut-être la plus grande réussite de l’appellation. Robe sombre. Nez intense, épicé, assez complexe. En bouche, l’attaque est souple, le milieu assez généreux avec un bon rebond assez tannique. 60 % merlot, 40 % cabernet-franc.

timatkin.com

95 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe6/30/2010

14.5% alcohol. 60M, 49CF The final alcohol may be even higher than that on the tasting sheet at the primeurs – some of the Merlot was picked as 16% alcohol apparently. This is a huge wine: concentrated and powerful with masses of ripe fruit. There’s a touch of jamminess on the palate, but the tannins are big and bold, the colour saturated, the concentration undeniable. 15+ years.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92-95 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2010

(60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc; pH 3.77; 14.5% alcohol; IPT 92) Deep purple. Very deep, enticing aromas of cassis, blackberry liqueur, dark chocolate and violet, with some oaky torrefaction notes of espresso and mocha; seems a bit more merlot-dominated than usual. The palate boasts outstanding intensity and freshness to the black fruit and smoky oak flavors, with a firm spine of acidity giving the wine necessary backbone. Finishes horizontal and long, with building, youthfully aggressive but ripe tannins. In a modern, extractive style, but with much better grip, focus and verve than many other similarly made wines. It's hard to believe, but t his is the 25th anniversary vintage for talented owner Hubert de Bo u ard, who is increasingly in demand across the Bordeaux region as a winemaking consultant.

La Revue du Vin de France

18-19 / 20

the5/31/2010

Avec un assemblage 60% Merlot et 40% Cabernet Franc, Angélus séduit comme à son habitude par sa maturité de fruit, son profil très gourmand et aimable. Parfumé et séducteur, il affiche une tenue vigoureuse et ample. Un vin généreux, finement toasté et d'une remarquable précision aromatique. La sélection de second vin, Le Carillon de l'Angélus (20.000 bouteilles) est encore plus importante que l'an passé.

Wein Wisser

19 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/17/2010

Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Heisses Bouquet, Malztöne, schwarze Oliven, dunkle Edelhölzer, Arabica-Kaffee, Korinthen und Black Currant, darüber tanzt versöhnlich eine frische Minzenote, die sich mit just gepflückten reifen Brombeeren ergänzt. Im Gaumen mit reichem Körper und muskulöser Adstringenz, viel schwarze Beeren im verlangenden Finale. Ein massiver Angélus mit dramatischer Konzentration für übermorgen. Vor 10 Jahren läuft hier nichts. 2020-2050

Le Point

17,5-18 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/6/2010

Nez assez fermé, épicé, réglisse, bouche onctueuse, plus fruitée que le nez le laissait paraître - un fruité bourguignon qui rappelle la côte de Nuits -, large, soyeuse, tanins assez fins, bon équilibre, vivacité en finale. Un vin aux tanins croquants, qui fait saliver. O=2017 G=20 ans

TAST

18,5-19 / 20

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/30/2010

Suprêment harmonieux avec un fruit pur et mûr, un tanin ultra soyeux et une longueur subtile. D'un style magnifique et surtout sans volonté appuyée de démonstration, Angélus 2009 signe une réussite majeure du cru et de la rive droite.

Wine Enthusiast

94-96 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/30/2010

A immensely powerful wine, heaving with fresh fruit and dark tannins. It is full of spiced plums, dark cherries and berries. These lie over wood and a powerful structure.

Falstaff

94-96 / 100

byPeter Moserthe4/30/2010

Zart floral unterlegte Kirschenfrucht, dunkles Beerenkonfit, feine Gewürzanklänge, Zitruszesten. Elegant, ausgewogen, süße Beerenfrucht, seidige Tannine, frische Säurestruktur, harmonisch, sehr gut anhaltend, gutes Entwicklungspotenzial.

Wine Advocate

96-100 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/28/2010

I tasted this three separate times, and on two occasions I thought it had the potential to be a perfect wine. The home estate of Hubert de Bouard, this 62+ acre vineyard produced a 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc blend in 2009, with yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare, and a whopping alcohol degree of 14.5%. Of course, the latter component is not even noticeable, as that is one of the erroneous myths about high alcohol in some 2009 Bordeaux. It just doesn’t show, thanks to the wine’s extraordinary concentration. This is a fabulous wine, with that telltale, dense, inky blue color that Angelus always seems to achieve. It displays an extraordinary nose of acacia flowers (or is it violets?) intermixed with blueberry liqueur, black raspberries, cassis, licorice, incense, and graphite. Full-bodied, viscous, with great intensity , vibrancy, and transparency, this is one of the all-time great wines from Angelus and a 21st century version of their 1989 and 1990. It should drink well for 20+ years – at the very minimum. (Tasted three times.) Drink 2010-2030

Periodic Review of Wine

97-99 / 100

byAlan Duranthe4/28/2010

This is reminiscent of the phenomenal achievement in 2005, and better than the amazing 2008. The result is a profound Angélus that will last for 35-40 years. Its color reveals a dense opaque purple accompanied by big scents of cassis, blueberry, liquefied-mineral, pain grillé, graphite, and lead pencil-dust. It is so well-endowed with richness and flavor. There is a full-bodied, dense, and expansive mouth with liquefied-mineral and crème de cassis flavour. The 2009 require patience because of its loaden tanin. Seductive and thrilling to consume! Maturity period 2017-2041+

Anthony Rose

92-94 / 100

byAnthony Rosethe4/26/2010

Dense opaque ruby purple, sweetly perfumed, ripe opulent blackberry fruit richness, very concentrated fresh and seamless fruit qualitym fine freshness, powerful muscular tannins that frame this wine; bordering on the over-ripe and overpowerful, but although it's no shrinking violet, I think the excellent fruit concentration and quality and freshness will see it through. 93 - 95

Wine Spectator

94-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/9/2010

Concentrated aromas of boysenberry and raspberry jam. Full-bodied and powerful, with beautiful fruit-coated tannins and a long, spicy, rich aftertaste. All there for a top vintage from Angélus.

Jancis Robinson

18 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/8/2010

Very dark crimson. Rather animal on the nose. Thick and sweet but with generosity. Broad and jewelly. Shame we were not allowed to taste it blind with the other grands crus classées. Awfully sweet and concentrated, not relaxed, lots of dryness on the finish, revitalising. Hint of cocoa. Drink 2016-2030. (18-)