Chateau Angelus 2014 | Fine Wine Offer

Until the era of management under Hubert de Bouard de Laforest, Chateau Angelus could not really claim to be making as fine a wine as its terroir allowed. Forward-thinking Hubert set about making many changes, including the early adoption of open-topped vats for fermenting and barrel maturation - both techniques which were picked up on by Hubert in his trips to Burgundy. Another bold and progressive change was that of the name, which went from L'Angelus to Angelus, as Hubert observed this would lead the chateau to the top of alphabetical directories.

The attention to detail in the handling of Chateau Angelus, has led to an increase in quality, reflected most obviously in its promotion in the 2012 St emilion Classification to Premier Grand Cru Classes A status, placing it in the top 4 chateaux in the region. The promotion of Pavie and Angelus to Premier Grand Cru Classe (A) in September 2012 brought these estates alongside Ausone and Cheval Blanc as the pinnacle of wine producers in St Emilion. These new rankings replaced a classification in force since 1996 and whilst these brands have inevitably re-positioned as a result of this, there remains plenty of scope for growth.

Chateau Angelus enjoyed valuable product placement in Casino Royale, in which Daniel Craig's 007 is seen enjoying a glass- a move which Hubert de Bouard told decanter.com led to a substantial sales spike. While prices for fine French wine are expected to stabilise in coming years, forecast for growth remains strong due to current brand strength following its St emilion reclassification and thanks to strong sales to China- where the bell that appears on every bottle of the Grand Vin is considered a lucky symbol.

Angelus is probably the best marketed and known brand in Asia - Petrus aside - from the right bank. Neal Martin's barrel score could be regarded as conservative but his notes clearly suggest it needed a little more time for a proper reassessment and with a re-score upon bottling in spring, a favourable outcome would further enhance the possibilities for growth over the next 1-5 years.

Critic Appraisal

A triumphant comeback beginning in the 1980s, following the appointments of Hubert de Bouard and Michel Rolland, became a meteoric rise, with Angelus currently considered among the very top wine producers, not merely in St emilion but in the entire Bordeaux region. Critic Neal Martin has praised the consistency in quality of wines produced and even in 2007, a washout year with many disappointing vintages, Angelus was delighting critics. 1990, 1995 and 2001 have all been singled out as 'outstanding' vintages and the 2009 vintage received a near perfect score of 99-points, demonstrating the upward trajectory in quality the wines of this chateau are enjoying. In fact, for the vintages 2000-2015 the average Parker score is 94.89pts which is marginally higher than Cheval Blanc (94.68pts) and just below Pavie and Ausone.