Angelus Dinner
Tasted April 30, 2018 by englishman's claret with 260 views
Introduction
Verticals are so terribly helpful in understanding chateaux. We had the good luck to compare a great, mature year (1990) to a great, early-maturity year (2000), to three challenging early-maturity years (2002, 2004, and 2007). Though I wouldn't have minded the addition of the 1989, these serve as a helpful guidebook to both the chateau's prudent decisions and missteps over the years.
Flight 1 (6 notes)
Red
1990 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
The first of two bottles from the same case and how different they are; the first example shows an elegant, herbal nose emphasizing the cabernet franc over the merlot. Advanced past where one would think the 1990 ought to be. A little more fat on the palate but without the sheer drive that a 90 Angelus might have. See following note...
Red
1990 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
The second bottle from the same case, this shows a totally different profile. Here it's the merlot that's emphasized and what a rich, sumptuous nose it shows. Raspberry, plum, ganache, Perigord truffle, cedar. Loads of swagger without losing any poise - this walks a fine line between hedonism and elegance. Round palate. Long finish. Just a delight - here's the real 1990 Angelus! 95-96
Red
2000 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Very open nose with lots of clean blackberry fruit, beef bouillon, minerals, pastilles, a touch roasty-toasty with a pleasant summer truffle edge. Texturally pleasing with lots of silken tannins on the palate. Despite their relatively young age, a lot of 2000 right banks don't seem to be holding a lot back at the moment. When you taste a very tight, big wine it's easy to get an idea that time will unravel a great secret (think young first growth). But this doesn't seem to hold much back - there's just not as much interest as I had hoped. I wouldn't spit this, but I'm also unlikely to chase this; not a patch on the compelling 1990 which was much more dynamic and edgy at this age.
Red
2002 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
This shows the best of what you can get out of a poor right bank vintage; it doesn't try to paper over anything. Rather, it willingly surrenders the fat that the vintage didn't give to capitalize on the elegant profile of plums, violet, redcurrant, and cedar that the vintage endowed. No trying to beef this up with oak. You don't get the 1990 - but it's OK. You get an honest, wholly enjoyable expression of Angelus that teaches you something about the terroir.
Red
2004 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Lots and lots of new oak here. Though it comes across as polished and modern, the nose comes off as over-worked and too candied for a classic St. Emilion. The new oak is too sweet for the fruit. As odd as it is to think of a red wine as cloying, one can't escape the sensation that it's so New World that it doesn't speak much of St. Emilion. Is that notion heightened by the fact that the 1990 is in the next glass? Perhaps, but the great vintage serves to elevate and enlighten - it shows you what a lovely wine Angelus is when it's balanced. Over time, the candied notes blow off - but I'm afraid they're not replaced by much.
Red
2007 Château Angélus
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
How do you handle a vintage like 2007? Surrender to the lack of weight and try to make an elegant wine or try to beef up what nature has given? This shows a nose of very toasty oak, obscuring the dark fruit below. The balance is off here. The palate, too, is a bit off - it's very hot, clocking in at an obtrusive 13.5%. This tries to exert its dominance over the vintage, but that doesn't work -- it ends up unwieldy and generic. Fascinating to taste this next to the surprisingly nice 02; both tough vintages for the right bank but one goes with the flow and the other tries to steamroll the vintage. Guess which one comes out on top.
Closing
One wonders if Angelus stacks up to Grands Crus Classes A like Cheval Blanc. The 1990 shows that is surely can. Perhaps some of that is preference; I love the balance of richness and classicism that Angelus can strike. But one gets the sense that over the past 30 years the style has somewhat been in flux, notably modifying its oak treatment to try and make the wines of certain mediocre years into wines they are not - that's where the trouble lies, in my opinion.
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