Le Carillon de l’Angelus 2016
Le Carillon de l’Angelus 2016, blended of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, aged 16 months in 50% new French oak. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it strides confidently out of the glass with pure, polished black cherries, fresh blackberries and black raspberry scents with nuances of unsmoked cigars, hoisin, black truffles and wet stones plus a waft of pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has great elegance and sophistication, with the lively red and black fruit flavors adeptly structured with soft, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering earthy note.
Chateau Angelus is a Premier Grand Cru Classé A estate on south-facing slopes in Saint-Émilion, on the right bank of the Gironde in Bordeaux. The château was so named because of the presence of church bells that could be heard chiming from the original plots of vineyards, amplified by the natural amphitheater the hill of Saint-Émilion creates.
The site that is now Château Angélus was added to the small estate of the de Boüard de Laforest family in 1920 and, by 1985, the estate had 20 hectares (50 acres) of vines. Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, took over the company reins at this time and began to introduce more modern ways of doing things. He began to change the vineyards to work as sustainably as possible, something that was seen as out of the ordinary for a winemaker in Saint-Émilion at the time.
In 1996, Château Angélus, which had been classified as a Grand Cru Classé in the Saint-Émilion Classification of 1954, was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé. In 2012, the château was promoted once again to the top rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé A, joining only three others, châteaux Ausone, Pavie and the famous Cheval Blanc.
The Château Angélus grand vin is made of a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and is aged in new oak for 18 months. It then spends at least five years in bottle before it is released, but can be aged for much longer. Angélus’s concentration, weight and structure allows the wine to stand the test of time. Annual production amounts to around 100,000 bottles. The château’s second wine, Le Carillon d’Angélus, was first made in 1987 and accounts for about 30 percent of the total production.
