2018 Chateau Angelus, Saint-Emilion, Bottle (750ml)

JD100 I loved the 2018 Château Angélus from barrel last year and it blew me away from bottle, epitomizing the new, fresher, more elegant style of the estate while still bringing classic Angélus richness and power. The 2018 is a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in new oak, with a portion of the Cabernet Franc in foudre. A vivid purple color is followed by a vibrant bouquet of blackberries, crème de cassis, crushed violets, spring flowers, and cedar pencil. Beautifully concentrated, full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, it has gorgeous tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and awesome length. I followed this bottle for multiple days and it only improved, picking up additional depth and richness, while never showing a hint of oxidation. Pure perfection, it's going to benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. This is a sensational, magical wine from this talented team, led by winemaker Emmanuelle d'Aligny-Fulchi. Comparing this to the more opulent 2005 and 2009 over the coming decades will be an incredible experience.

JL99 Opaque in color, the nose sense just picked black raspberries, wet earth, smoke, licorice, flowers and liqueur of blackberry. On the palate, the wine balances power, elegance, refinement and depth. Clearly this is concentrated but there is a lightness in the touch with a refined, precise character. The finish keeps on going with groundswells of sensually textured fruits, spice, licorice and earth for over 50 seconds! With the 2018 you have an evolution not a revolution; there is a small shift in style moving to a more refined elegance while retaining all its power. The wine was made from blending 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, reaching 14.5% alcohol. it is interesting to note that with the 2018, only the oldest Cabernet Franc vines were used in the blend. The harvest took place September 24 to October 11. The yields were low at 30 hectoliters per hectare. This is the first vintage where all the vineyards used to produce Angelus were farmed 100% organically. The aging process has shifted as well, now 10% of the wine is aged in neutral foudres which will also go through malolactic fermentation in vat.