1 double-magnum per lot
Details
Chateau Angelus
This is one of the oldest yet most modern estates in Saint Emilion:oldest because its origins go back hundreds of years and has been in the De Bouard Laforest family for the last 235 of those ; most modern because, as from the early 1980s, Hubert, the seventh generation De Bouard, embarked on a very ambitious vineyard and cellar renovation programme that brought promotion first in 1996 to « Premier Grand Crus Classé » status, then for the 2012 vintage, to « Premier Grand Cru Classé A » status, thus joining, together with Pavie, the ranks of Cheval Blanc and Ausone. Needless to say, the Bordeaux establishment were very standoffish about this meteoric rise. Personally, as from the '85, Hubert's first solo vintage, I was totally impressed. These were no mere body-built garage wines. They were already showing that kind of concentration but they had a lot more than concentration in them and I started taking clients there to taste as often as I could. What convinced me too was the way Hubert described how he did it : for the first four years, he spent all his time in the vineyard studying, detailing and deciding what should be done where. Meanwhile, apart from a lot of care on selection, temperature control and ripeness of tannins, he didn't do much special in the cellar. My thanks go to him, his cousin Jean-Bernard Greniè and now his daughters Stéphanie and Coralie for all the great times we had together tasting and understanding these wines.
The vintages in this catalogue all come from this period of Hubert's ascendancy :
The difficult years of '92, '93 and '94 all showing extraordinary depth and muscle for such weak vintages, the '92 a little more diluted by the rain.
The '95, a hot year that ripened the Cabernet Francs to perfection, providing as much richness and smoothness as the Merlot but with more complexity and silkier tannins (Hubert swears by his Cabernet Francs)
The '96 was then a truly Cabernet year, 55% of the blend in this vintage, and he and the new winemaker Emmanuelle Fulchi turned it to their advantage – and to ours in providing a long-lived wine.
He managed to flesh out the weaker '97 vintage by emphasising the velvety fat black character of the Merlot, taking it up to 60% and spicing it up with some judicious barrel effect.
The '98, a great right bank vintage, is surprisingly Merlot-dominated (65%) and still has a gorgeous lustrous sheen.
Having learned the lesson from the '99 vintage when a hail storm had forced him to pick early, he did so again, this time on purpose, for the Merlots of the '00. This marks a turning-point to a bit more freshness amidst the concentration.
The hot '03 vintage everywhere produced rather heavy and over-ripe Merlots. Hubert countered this by leaving his Cab Francs an extra month before picking them and as a result they nestled nicely into the Merlots to make a very balanced blend.
The more traditional '04 and '05 were more on their tannins but at Angélus the richness of concentration countered those tannins nicely and the '05 seems to be headed for the stars.
Chateau Angelus 1994
Saint-Emilion, 1er grand cru classe (A)
In original wooden case
1 double-magnum per lot
This is one of the oldest yet most modern estates in Saint Emilion:oldest because its origins go back hundreds of years and has been in the De Bouard Laforest family for the last 235 of those ; most modern because, as from the early 1980s, Hubert, the seventh generation De Bouard, embarked on a very ambitious vineyard and cellar renovation programme that brought promotion first in 1996 to « Premier Grand Crus Classé » status, then for the 2012 vintage, to « Premier Grand Cru Classé A » status, thus joining, together with Pavie, the ranks of Cheval Blanc and Ausone. Needless to say, the Bordeaux establishment were very standoffish about this meteoric rise. Personally, as from the '85, Hubert's first solo vintage, I was totally impressed. These were no mere body-built garage wines. They were already showing that kind of concentration but they had a lot more than concentration in them and I started taking clients there to taste as often as I could. What convinced me too was the way Hubert described how he did it : for the first four years, he spent all his time in the vineyard studying, detailing and deciding what should be done where. Meanwhile, apart from a lot of care on selection, temperature control and ripeness of tannins, he didn't do much special in the cellar. My thanks go to him, his cousin Jean-Bernard Greniè and now his daughters Stéphanie and Coralie for all the great times we had together tasting and understanding these wines.
The vintages in this catalogue all come from this period of Hubert's ascendancy :
The difficult years of '92, '93 and '94 all showing extraordinary depth and muscle for such weak vintages, the '92 a little more diluted by the rain.
The '95, a hot year that ripened the Cabernet Francs to perfection, providing as much richness and smoothness as the Merlot but with more complexity and silkier tannins (Hubert swears by his Cabernet Francs)
The '96 was then a truly Cabernet year, 55% of the blend in this vintage, and he and the new winemaker Emmanuelle Fulchi turned it to their advantage – and to ours in providing a long-lived wine.
He managed to flesh out the weaker '97 vintage by emphasising the velvety fat black character of the Merlot, taking it up to 60% and spicing it up with some judicious barrel effect.
The '98, a great right bank vintage, is surprisingly Merlot-dominated (65%) and still has a gorgeous lustrous sheen.
Having learned the lesson from the '99 vintage when a hail storm had forced him to pick early, he did so again, this time on purpose, for the Merlots of the '00. This marks a turning-point to a bit more freshness amidst the concentration.
The hot '03 vintage everywhere produced rather heavy and over-ripe Merlots. Hubert countered this by leaving his Cab Francs an extra month before picking them and as a result they nestled nicely into the Merlots to make a very balanced blend.
The more traditional '04 and '05 were more on their tannins but at Angélus the richness of concentration countered those tannins nicely and the '05 seems to be headed for the stars.
Chateau Angelus 1994
Saint-Emilion, 1er grand cru classe (A)
In original wooden case
1 double-magnum per lot
Special notice
On lots marked with an + in the catalogue, VAT will be charged at 7.7% on both the premium as well as the hammer price.
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