2015 Angélus, St-Emilion (Pre-Arrival)

A great wine with superb concentration and richness. yet it's ever so agile and polished. Spices, blueberries, cinnamon and dried flowers. Full body and polished and full tannins. Great length. The refinement to the tannins is amazing. Compacted. Essence-like. Needs five or six years to open. Try in 2025. (2/2018)

A blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 Angelus reveals a deep garnet-purple color and fragrant aromas of crushed red currants, warm plums and pencil shavings with hints of incense, sage, violets and tobacco. Full-bodied, very fine and intense yet exquisitely delicate with wonderful freshness, it has ripe yet firm, very finely grained tannins and an epically long, perfumed finish. With bags of perfume and a captivating plushness, this Angelus is a real head-turner! (LPB) (2/2018)

This wine is structured, powerful and ripe but also elegant and stylish. Juicy black fruits combine with a dry, structured core to give the wine both its richness and its future. Powered by its fruit and tannins, it has good aging potential. Drink from 2027. *Cellar Selection* (RV) (4/2018)

Dense, dark and muscular, featuring waves of warmed fig, plum and black currant paste that roll in with warm ganache, baker's chocolate and espresso accents. A huge swath of smoldering tobacco is brewing on the finish, which has a brooding feel, thanks to tannins that hit like a thunderclap at the end. If you've got time to wait... Best from 2028 through 2045. (JM) (3/2018)

Rich and brooding on the nose with a hint of spicy fragrance. Powerful tannic frame but the tannins are fine and polished. Great depth and structure. Suave texture for such a big wine. Balancing freshness on the finish. Will need time. (JL) (4/2016)

Readers will have to be very patient with the 2015 Angélus. Massively tannic and forbidding, Angélus is one of the most reticent, unyielding 2015s I tasted. The high percentage of Cabernet Franc, the approach to extraction, aging in the cellar - which involves minimal racking and low S02 - and slightly late bottling are some of the factors that result in a huge, powerful, impenetrable wine at this stage. Even so, the 2015 exudes concentration and depth. Time in the glass brings out some of the wine's unctuousness, but it will be at least a decade before the 2015 is ready to deliver true drinking pleasure. (AG) 95+ (2/2018)

Extremely dark purplish crimson. Light nose but masses of sweet concentration on the palate. Nothing exaggerated. Just rather drying tannins on the end at the moment. Like Carillon d'Angélus, it has a slight bitterness on the finish but has clearly been made with no shortage of ambition. For the long term. 17.5/20 points (JR) (4/2016)

96 points Neal Martin: "The 2015 Angelus was bottled in September 2017. It has a more backward nose compared to other recent vintages, demanding coaxing to eke out those lovely blackberry, briary, cassis and crushed violet aromas that are neatly sutured with the new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. This is velvety/creamy in texture, the acidity well judged with sumptuous black cherry and red plum fruit, underneath which lies hints of seaweed/brine and sea salt. There is great precision on the finish, completing an accomplished Angelus built for long-term aging. Anticipated maturity: 2023 - 2050." (02/2018)