2018 Carillon de l'Angelus

An excellent vintage at this St Emilion First Growth, but the main wine is nowhere near ready to approach. I suggest looking instead at the second wine, Le Carillon d'Angélus. Expect stewed spiced plums, raspbery and black cherry fleshy fruits, and a ton of smoked earth, liqourice and slate. Still young at three years old, this will deliver already with a good few hours in a carafe but there is no rush to open. 50% new oak. The first vintage that includes the newly-expanded vineyard footprint, with plots in St Christophe de Bardes and a large area near Cheval Blanc and Figeac.

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Very plush sweet oak and ripe redcurrant fruit. Pliable tannins with a touch of bitter black-olive aroma and a good dose of fresh clove giving complexity. Moderate persistence, but there is still plenty of primary fruit that should develop maturity with time. (RH)

As explained in my original notes from barrel, the 2018 Carillon d’Angélus is augmented by an additional eight hectares from recent acquisitions: three hectares in Tour St. Christophe and five hectares between Cheval Blanc and Figeac. This has developed on the nose, gaining a little more precision and revealing blackberry, raspberry, orange peel and light rose petal scents, the new oak still beautifully integrated. The palate is very well balanced with grainy tannins, and velvety-smooth. Just a faint graphite element tinctures the black fruit, and there is an almost Left Bank structure to the briny finish. Excellent.