2000 Château Angélus

Tasted at the estate during the Connoisseur Week in June 2022, this was the wine of the night among tough competition. Packed with waves of flavour that turn from understated to dominant as it unrolls in the glass, changing each moment in the way that only truly great wines can manage. The texture is dominated by velvety tannins and supple fruits, blackberry, passion fruit, damson puree, turmeric, espresso, tar and smoked earth, with tannins that are just on the edge of austere even at 22 years old, suggesting that although this is at a great moment to drink it is going nowhere. 100% new oak, Hubert de Boüard owner and winemaker at the time.

The 2000 Angélus (which, incidentally, was the first vintage where the bottle was embossed with the château name) is one that I have tasted many times, though not recently. Showing minor degradation at its rim, it displays a core with a healthy deep hue. The bouquet is concentrated and intense, plenty of red fruit mingling with melted tar and leather, and perhaps a little more gourmand/animally than I was expecting. The palate is medium-bodied with a slight bitterness on the entry, and delivers good weight and girth, though compared to recent vintages it is patently clear that there is not the same clarity or tension. Quite ferrous, especially with aeration.