Wine List

Parker Score - 97 The finest effort since the 1989 and 1990, this dense purple-colored wine has an extravagantly ripe, concentrated style. The 2000 (in a new engraved bottle) offers up aromas of blackberry liqueur and vintage port. As the wine sits in the glass, graphite, wet stones, smoke, barbecue spices, and olives also make an appearance. It unfolds on the palate in layers, is full-bodied, big and rich yet incredibly poised, well-balanced, and pure. Quite backward, this is one of the greatest Angelus made to date. Yields were a modest 35 hectoliters per hectare. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2030. Bravo!

The 2015 Angélus has a calm, cool and collected bouquet of tightly wound black fruit that unfurls with aeration to reveal blackberry, gravel and pencil box notes; classic, almost Left Bank in style, and delivered with real panache. The palate is exquisitely balanced with fine but grippy tannin, layers of black and red fruit tinged with vanilla and perfect acidity. The harmonious, sensual finish is very alluring. What a stunning 2015 this is going to be! Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

-- Neal Martin 97/100

A great wine with superb concentration and richness. yet it's ever so agile and polished. Spices, blueberries, cinnamon and dried flowers. Full body and polished and full tannins. Great length. The refinement to the tannins is amazing. Compacted. Essence-like. Needs five or six years to open. Try in 2025.

Score: 99 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

This shows the purity of Angelus. I have never tasted a wine from here with such incredible clarity. Full body, full fruit and full beauty. Super silky tannins. A joy to taste. Makes you want to drink it. 62% merlot and 38% cabernet franc.

Score: 99/100 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

The 2016 Angélus has a very well defined bouquet featuring blackberry, melted tar, pencil box and floral notes, though they are less pronounced than they were from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. This is well balanced with plenty of freshness and fine grip, and quite dense in the mouth compared to its peers. Notes of blackberry laced with sea salt and a touch of licorice govern the finish to this substantial Angélus, which will benefit from several years in bottle. Patience will be undoubtedly rewarded. Drink 2025-2048.

Score: 96 Neal Martin, vinous.com (Jan 2019), January 2019

The 2016 Angelus is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc and 60% Merlot with much of the production zoning in on the more clayey soils that are ideal in a dry growing season like this. Picked from 4 to 21 October and matured entirely in new oak, it has a very intense bouquet with multilayered blackcurrant, blueberry and floral notes, very refined and precise, not unlike the 2010 in some ways, but I would argue this is more sophisticated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, symmetrical in terms of focus with just the right amount of sappiness on the saline finish. It is a superb Angelus from the de Boüard family, destined to give pleasure over many, many years. Once in bottle, I expect it to land towards the top of my banded scale.
Drink Date 2026 - 2060

Score: 96/98 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017

The 2016 Angélus is composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, aged 18 to 22 months in new barrels and foudres. Deep garnet-purple colored, it drifts effortlessly out of the glass with sensuous notes of lavender, candied violets, garrigue, Ceylon tea and iron ore with a core of warm black cherries, mulberries, ripe plums and aniseed plus wafts of cedar chest and cloves. Medium to full-bodied, the perfumed fruit whispers of great intensity and depth, with the vivacious fruit well knit into the plush, seductive frame of velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. Still very tightly wound with amazing tension at this stage, it truly needs a good 6-8 more years in bottle to deliver the fully expressed layers that this soft-spoken, profound beauty promises.

Score: 98+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2019

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.

Score: 99 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2019

Incredible depth of fruit. Dense yet agile and energetic. It has so much dynamic fruit and tannin structure. Makes you want to taste and taste. What a young wine! We will see if 2016 is better than 2015. Both are great.

Score: 99/100 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2017

The 2016 Angélus is a total stunner. Despite its late bottling in September 2018, the 2016 is simply magnificent. Soaring aromatics and layers of bright, vibrant fruit are two of the main signatures in the 2016. The tannins, so often hard in young Angélus, are almost impossibly refined. Pomegranate, blood orange, raspberry jam, wild flowers and mocha are some of the many notes that race through the 2016. All the elements fall into place in a memorable, exquisite Saint-Émilion that is clearly one of the wines of the year. Don't miss it!

Score: 98 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, January 2019

A great Angélus and one of the two or three best wines of the vintage made under the talented young Hubert de Bouard, this wine still has a youthful, saturated ruby/purple color and a sweet nose of melted licorice intermixed with crème de cassis, tapenade, cedar, spice box, and vanilla. Very full-bodied, opulent, and rich, it is one of the 1989s that justifies the lofty reputation of the vintage. Extremely thick, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for at least another 10-15 years.

Score: 96 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (4), December 2003

The 1989 possesses a huge finish, with more noticeable tannin than in the 1990. Picking a favorite between these two fabulous examples of their respective vintages is - for me - presently impossible. I will probably end up drinking the 1990 before the 1989, but both are 25-30 year wines, with the 1989 possibly reaching full maturity in 5-6 years and the 1990 needing several more years of cellaring. Last tasted, 11/96.

Score: 96 Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book (3), November 1998

Tasted at Farr Vintners’ vertical from ex-chateau magnum. One of the finest vintages made at the estate, the Chateau Angelus 1989 has a very intense, powerful bouquet with blackberry, cedar, cooked meat and a little Christmas cake. Whereas the 1990 gives you everything up front, the 1989 is far more coquettish and takes time to unfold. The palate is very smooth on the entry, beautifully balanced with filigree tannins. There is an edginess to the 1989, much more feminine with a touch of truffle, coca and pepper on the finish. Wonderful, a wine at its peak, although it shows no signs of flagging. Tasted October 2011. Drink 2015-2035.

Score: 97
 

Rating

88

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2020 - 2029

Reviewed by

 Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Issue Date

5th Mar 2020

Source

March 2020 Week 1, The Wine Advocate

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 D'Angludet gives up scents of sweaty leather, baked plums and tapenade with underlying notions of cassis, wild sage and tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is a little rugged and rustic with a chewy texture and slightly drying finish.

The finest d'Armailhac I have tasted to date, the 2009 is largely Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) blended with a big wallop of Merlot (25%) and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Its dense purple color is followed by a big, sweet kiss of asphalt, black currants, mocha, barbecue smoke, cedar and spice. This medium to full-bodied, well-made, impressively endowed Pauillac should drink well for 20+ years. Drink: 2012 - 2032

Score: 92 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (199), March 2012

This may be the finest d'Armailhac I have ever tasted. Made in a textured, full-bodied, sumptuous style, it is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and the balance primarily Cabernet Franc with a tiny dosage of Petit Verdot. It exhibits a deep ruby/purple hue along with floral, red and black currant, cedar, and spice characteristics. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and impressively pure as well as long, it should drink well for 25 years. (Tasted three times.) Drink 2010-2035. Robert Parker added an asterisk to this wine score to signify that it is a wine he considers has the finest potential of all the offerings he has ever tasted from this estate in nearly 32 years of barrel tasting samples in Bordeaux.

Score: 90/93 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (188), April 2010

WINE SPECTATOR

93 / 100  points

Cedar, new wood and crushed blackberry and raspberry aromas follow through to a palate of vanilla, berry and blackberry character. Balanced and modern, with lots of fruit. Lively, with bright acidity. Best after 2014. James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2006

JANCIS ROBINSON

17 / 20  points

Exceptionally deep purple - no sign of age! Yet on the nose it seems rather developed. Odd! A bit of kirsch, a bit of sweat. You could think of approaching this in the next few years at least compared with some in this flight. But it's awfully hard work at the moment. Pronounced greenness on the finish.www.jancisrobinson.com, 20 Jan 2010

ROBERT PARKER

98 / 100  points

One of the handful of candidates for wine of the vintage is the 2006 Ausone. In fact, while tasting it, I was thinking, is there any estate in Bordeaux that, since 1998, has made as many legendary wines as proprietor Alain Vauthier has at his beloved Ausone? Boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as an extraordinary, precise bouquet of minerals, flowers, blueberry liqueur, and black currants, this wine possesses fabulous fruit and great intensity, but what makes it so special is its precision, focus, and almost ethereal lightness despite substantial flavor intensity and depth. It is a ballerina with density and power. The abundant noticeable tannin is sweet and, not surprisingly, very finely grained. It should be cellared for a decade, and consumed over the following half century. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 181

Rating

95

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2022 - 2045

Reviewed by

Neal Martin

Issue Date

31st Mar 2017

Source

Interim End of March 2017, The Wine Advocate

The 2014 Ausone, a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, was matured in barrel for 20 months with 85% new oak. Compared to the Chapelle d'Ausone, this Grand Vin demanded gentle coaxing from the glass. It eventually unfurls to reveal mineral-rich red berry fruit, oregano, orange blossom and later on blackcurrant winegums. It displays superb delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin. There is an almost sorbet-like freshness conferred upon this Saint Emilion by the growing season, very harmonious and poised with one of the most precise and tensile finishes that you will find this vintage. One of the stars of the vintage, this may merit a higher score with bottle age. This is a great success.

The deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Ausone is a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious scents of baked red and black plums, wild blueberries and boysenberries plus touches of violets, espresso, licorice and melted chocolate with wafts of iron ore and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is an exercise in poise, featuring beautifully ripe, silken tannins and bold freshness to support the fragrant multi-layers, finishing very long and very minerally. 2024 - 2057

Score: 98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2020), March 2020

The 2017 Ausone was bottled in June 2019. It is blessed with one of the most cerebral bouquets that you will find in this vintage. Nuanced scents of violet and wild heather percolate through the blueberry and cassis fruit. Like the aromatics, the palate is almost pixelated in terms of detail. Cashmere tannins, perfectly integrated new oak and layers of pure fruit. The limestone terroir still shines through this Ausone with intense _mineralité _ towards the seductive finish that lingers in the mouth. Alain and Pauline Vauthier have crafted one of the wines of the vintage. 2024 - 2050

Score: 96 Neal Martin, vinous.com, February 2020

The 2017 Ausone was cropped at 35hl/ha between 23 and 25 September with respect to the Merlot and 28 and 29 September for the Cabernet Franc. It is aged in 100% new oak as usual for 20 months. It has a crisp, precise, mineral-driven bouquet with slightly more red fruit than black this year: crushed strawberry, hints of cassis, blueberry and traits of freshly tilled loamy soil. The palate is medium-bodied with cashmere tannin and a fine line of acidity. It is very harmonious and already quite seductive. I admire the depth of this Ausone, the sensuality that is conveyed towards the sustained, glycerin-tinged, peacock’s tail finish that lingers for more than 45 seconds. What a great Ausone this is destined to be. Drink 2024-2050.

Score: 94/96 Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2018

Blended of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Ausone offers up slowly emerging notes of crushed black plums, blackberries and mulberries with nuances of anise, violets, new leather and unsmoked cigars plus suggestions of black olives and truffles and a touch of cast iron pan. Medium to full-bodied with firm, very finely grained, super ripe tannins and an uplifting backbone of freshness perfectly supporting the profoundly layered, tightly wound yet incredibly intense fruit, it finishes very long with mineral accents and compelling tension.

Score: 97/99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (236), April 2018

Love the perfume and pretty, transparent fruit. Purity. Raspberries. Full-bodied, extremely focused and bright with clarity and beauty. Juicy and savory. Chalk and light chocolate at the finish. Try after 2024, but gorgeous to taste already.

Score: 97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2020

This is a centered and deep red with blueberry, raspberry, mineral, stone and lemon aromas. Full-bodied, focused and polished. Lovely length. Gentle yet structured. Supple.

Score: 96/97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2018

The 2017 Ausone is incredibly precise and sculpted, but also tightly wound in the early going - not that that will be a problem for readers who own it and will cellar it. Wild flowers, mint, blood orange and crushed rocks are some of the nuances that open up in the glass, but the 2017 is not in any mood to show all of its cards. Vertical, rich and explosive with tons of inner energy, the 2017 is a truly regal wine, but it also needs a number of years to be at its very finest. Here, too, the Franc (55% of the blend) really shines. This is a stellar showing from the Vauthier family. 2027 - 2057

Score: 97 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, March 2020

The 2017 Ausone is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Stunning in its grandeur and presence, the 2017 possesses marvelous depth and remarkable aromatic intensity from the very first taste. Dark red and blue stone fruit, licorice, menthol, lavender and sweet spice build into the rich, flamboyant finish. The 2017 is 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot with the Franc very expressive today. The fruit saw about 30 days on the skins, including a week of cold soak. But those are mere details. The 2017 Ausone is a total stunner. That's all there is to it.

Score: 95/98 Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, May 2018

Darkest purple crimson. Smoky, lightly charry aroma from the oak and an inviting mineral/dusty quality and fresh, pure cassis fruit shines out. Succulent, the oak swallowed by the fruit on the palate. Concentrated and so full of fine, pure dark fruit. The tannins are compact but also somehow sweet, giving a firm but very smooth framework for the fruit. Long and fresh. Very good, and impressive harmony already. 
Drink 2027-2040

Score: 18 Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2018

In 2017 picking took place between September 23rd and 29th with a normal yield of 35 hl/ha - there was no frost damage here high on the best slopes of St Emilion. The assemblage in 2017 is 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot. A deep, saturated colour here with sweet, dark chocolate and liquorice on this exotic nose of impressively ripe black fruits. This is exuberant and enticing. The palate is chock full of black fruits, offering one of the best, densest mid-palates of the vintage without sacrificing the tannic structure, which remains defiantly polished, ripe and harmonious. The bright acidity of the vintage lends itself to this wine, turning the lightly roasted black fruits to notes of cherry blossom and freshly-picked blackberries on the finish. The oak is noticeable but adds to the complexity rather than fighting the fruit. Smoky incense and baked vanilla lingers in tandem with the fruit on a long finish.

Score: 17.5 Farr Vintners, April 2018

Rich and ripe the nose has depth a mix of sweet fruits the palate starts with fleshy richness the tannins are silky creamy on the mid palate the black fruits rich ripe and sweet. There is balance freshness towards the back fragrant with the rich fruit coming through giving a rich finish. 2027-42

Score: 92/95 Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2018

This is totally stunning, demonstrating depth, texture, salinity and flesh. It manages to be both austere and generous at the same time, pushing and pulling. It's a totally different conversation to many others wines this year. There was no frost effect here, although some of their other estates were fully wiped out. Harvested 23-29 September from 7.25ha planted at densities ranging between 6,500-12,600 vines per hectare. 100% new oak.
Drinking Window 2027 - 2043

Score: 97 Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2018

There was no frost damage here. This is the finest nose of the vintage and the seduction and complexity of the fruit, oak and minerality here is staggering. I spent a full five minutes smelling this wine before I tasted it. Nothing is out of place and nothing is hurried. The nose is like a perfect wave of sensory pleasure, tempered and held by the exact conditions of the vintage. The palate is bold and all-enveloping, but it is not heavy or muscular. There is a Burgundian resonance here and there are even griotte notes in among the more traditional Bordeaux descriptors. The texture is mesmerising, as is the calmness and coolness with which this wine hands out its bounteous flavours. Epically long and desperately enticing already, goodness knows what will happen to it when it softens and builds further. It is already close to perfection, but in this unpredictable vintage it is a serious triumph and my wine of the year.

Score: 19.5+ Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2018