Chateau Angelus 2014

An iconic Bordeaux celebrated for its rich layers of blackberry, cassis, plum, violet, cedar, and graphite. Powerful yet refined, its silky tannins, remarkable concentration, and exceptional balance create an elegant, age-worthy wine with a lingering finish.

Food Pairing: Pair with beef tenderloin, roast lamb, duck breast, venison, aged Comté, truffle dishes, or wild mushroom risotto.

97 Points - Wine Enthusiast

Effectively half-and-half Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this is a tremendous wine. With very fine tannins, spice from a touch of wood and swathes of ripe fruits give this wine its concentration and its huge potential. The wine has weight and a dark, dense structure that will allow it to age for many years. Best after 2027. Cellar Selection

96 Points - James Suckling

Wow. This is really decadent and fascinating with forest flowers, chocolate, tea and currants on the nose, which follows through to a firm and silky palate with lots of fruit and balance. Very long and beautiful. Citrusy undertones. Needs five or six years of bottle age to show it all.

95 Points - Decanter

Hubert de Boüard's 30th vintage. 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc from 60-year-old vines. Fine, racy nose. Violet notes. Velvety texture. Ample tannins but precise, fine and long. Again real precision in this wine. Structured, seductive and long ageing.

95 Points - Wine Spectator

This has a dense, muscular core of warm blackberry, black currant and fig paste flavors, shrouded under a cloak of tobacco and loam. Not shy on toast and balanced by a hefty ganache edge, this isn't heady at all, just a terrific expression of the muscular, loamy style.

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2014 Angélus needs a fair bit of coaxing to begin to reveal very pretty aromas of lilacs, kirsch, redcurrant jelly and Black Forest cake plus nuances of graphite and menthol. The palate is delicately intense with soft spoken floral and earth notes complimenting the black fruits, supported by ripe, rounded tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long with compelling restraint. Sporting a good amount of tertiary nuances, it can be enjoyed right now, but make sure to decant it a good 1.5 to two hours prior to drinking. Drink from 2020 - 2045.

94 Points - Vinous

The 2014 Angélus is a dark, powerful wine. Black cherry, violet, chocolate, leather, torrefaction and cloves are some of the many aromas and flavors that give the wine its dense, heavily extracted feel. There is no shortage of intensity today, but the real question is whether there will still be enough fruit once the tannins soften. That said, the 2014 opens up nicely with time, so I am cautiously optimistic.