The 1998 Angélus, a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc and 60% Merlot, is deep garnet colored with a touch of brick. The nose is completely...WOW! It has an incredible array of smoked meats, incense, cigar box and dusty earth notions over a core of baked cherries, dried mulberries, preserved plums and dried roses with wafts of lavender, menthol and new leather. The palate is medium to full-bodied, rich, intense and packed with black fruit preserves accented by complex savory and earth-inspired flavors, supported by wonderful freshness, textured by plush tannins and finishing with fantastic tension. This still has loads of life—25+ more years!

Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate, 31 May 2018

Tasted at Farr Vintners' vertical from ex-chateau magnum. The bouquet is well defined and much fresher and more complex than the 1999. Here we have lovely bright vivacious red-berried fruit with oyster shell and a scent that reminds me of walking round an old stately home. Very fine definition and the oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins: very silky in the mouth, concentrated but with a great deal of tension and poise. Long and persistent towards the finish, this is a great Angelus that will repay extended cellaring. Tasted October 2011.

Neal Martin - Wine Journal Mar 2012

A dazzling effort, the 1998 boasts an opaque purple color in addition to an exceptional bouquet of smoke, licorice, plums, black raspberries, and blackberries. As the wine sits in the glass, coffee and chocolate also emerge. Full-bodied, flamboyant, well-delineated, and beautifully balanced as well as layered, with well-integrated tannin in the powerful, rich finish, this 1998 will be at its best between 2003-2020.

Robert Parker Jr - Wine Advocate #134 Apr 2001