Angélus 2021

The château was given its name due of the presence of nearby church bells (an "angélus" is a Roman Catholic prayer bell) that could be heard chiming from the original plots of vineyards. The current château now hosts a framework of small bells on its rooftop.

The site that is now Château Angélus was added to the small estate of the de Boüard de Laforest family in 1920 and, by 1985, the estate had 20 hectares (50 acres) of vines. Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, took over the company reins at this time and began to introduce more modern approaches to viticulture and winemaking.

He also ushered in a considerably more sustainable approach to viticulture – something of a rarity in Saint-Émilion at the time. The estate currently boasts a total of 39 hectares (96 acres) of vineyard.

This is broken down into roughly equal portions of Merlot (50 percent) and Cabernet Franc (47 percent) with three percent Cabernet Sauvignon – proportions that are broadly reflected in the eponymous "grand vin" (the estate's flagship wine bearing the château name).

The grand vin is aged in new oak for around 18 months prior to bottling. It then spends at least five years in bottle before it is released, but can be aged for much longer as Angélus's concentration, weight and structure reguarly allows the wine to evolve over decades.

The château's second wine, Le Carillon d'Angélus, was first made in 1987 and accounts for about 30 percent of the total production. A third wine, No.3 d’Angélus, is made with predominantly Merlot (around 85 percent). In all, around 100,000 bottles were produced annually from the estate.

The winery also produces Tempo d'Angélus, a wine made from vineyard plots acquired by Château Angelus in 2017. These are situated in the neighboring regions of Castillon-la-Bataille, Saint-Magne-de-Castillon and Sainte-Colombe, all southeast of Saint-Émilion.

Tempo d'Angélus is made under the generic Bordeaux appellation title at Angélus' offsite winery, the Chai Carillon, in Saint-Magne de Castillon, which was unveiled in 2021. This new facility also houses the production for Le Carillon d'Angélus which, from the 2019 vintage, bears the simple Saint-Emilion appellation title as Saint-Magne de Castillon is also outside the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru area.

Following decades as a Grand Cru Classé since its inclusion in the Saint-Émilion Classification of 1955, Château Angélus was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1996. The move was relatively uncontroversial at the time, given the consistent high ratings given to the wines by critics.

In 2012, the château was promoted once again, this time to the top rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé A, joining only three others, châteaux Ausone, Pavie and the famous Cheval Blanc. This move was more controversial given it was the first time a Saint-Émilion Classification had added to the top tier (occupied for 57 years by only Ausone and Cheval Blanc).

More broadly, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest's involvement in the classification (he is also a winemaking consultant in the region) attracted much debate and legal proceedings. As a result, in 2016, de Boüard's daughter Stéphanie bought her father's shares in the property, becoming sole owner. Her father remains as a co-director.

Despite the negative commentary and press coverage surrounding the 2012 classification (Hubert de Boüard de Laforest was found guilty of "unlawful bias" in 2021), the wines of Angélus are generally held by critics to be among the best in the Saint-Émilion region. 

While Hubert de Boüard remains a controversial figure, his leadership of the estate has been innovate in a number of spheres. Marketing campaigns to introduce the world to Château Angélus include a long-standing association with the James Bond film franchise.

A 1982 vintage of the wine was featured in the 2006 film Casino Royale while the 2005 vintage made a cameo in Spectre (2015) and No Time To Die (2021).

The château was given its name due of the presence of nearby church bells (an "angélus" is a Roman Catholic prayer bell) that could be heard chiming from the original plots of vineyards. The current château now hosts a framework of small bells on its rooftop.

The site that is now Château Angélus was added to the small estate of the de Boüard de Laforest family in 1920 and, by 1985, the estate had 20 hectares (50 acres) of vines. Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, took over the company reins at this time and began to introduce more modern approaches to viticulture and winemaking.

He also ushered in a considerably more sustainable approach to viticulture – something of a rarity in Saint-Émilion at the time. The estate currently boasts a total of 39 hectares (96 acres) of vineyard.

This is broken down into roughly equal portions of Merlot (50 percent) and Cabernet Franc (47 percent) with three percent Cabernet Sauvignon – proportions that are broadly reflected in the eponymous "grand vin" (the estate's flagship wine bearing the château name).

The grand vin is aged in new oak for around 18 months prior to bottling. It then spends at least five years in bottle before it is released, but can be aged for much longer as Angélus's concentration, weight and structure reguarly allows the wine to evolve over decades.

The château's second wine, Le Carillon d'Angélus, was first made in 1987 and accounts for about 30 percent of the total production. A third wine, No.3 d’Angélus, is made with predominantly Merlot (around 85 percent). In all, around 100,000 bottles were produced annually from the estate.

The winery also produces Tempo d'Angélus, a wine made from vineyard plots acquired by Château Angelus in 2017. These are situated in the neighboring regions of Castillon-la-Bataille, Saint-Magne-de-Castillon and Sainte-Colombe, all southeast of Saint-Émilion.

Tempo d'Angélus is made under the generic Bordeaux appellation title at Angélus' offsite winery, the Chai Carillon, in Saint-Magne de Castillon, which was unveiled in 2021. This new facility also houses the production for Le Carillon d'Angélus which, from the 2019 vintage, bears the simple Saint-Emilion appellation title as Saint-Magne de Castillon is also outside the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru area.

Following decades as a Grand Cru Classé since its inclusion in the Saint-Émilion Classification of 1955, Château Angélus was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1996. The move was relatively uncontroversial at the time, given the consistent high ratings given to the wines by critics.

In 2012, the château was promoted once again, this time to the top rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé A, joining only three others, châteaux Ausone, Pavie and the famous Cheval Blanc. This move was more controversial given it was the first time a Saint-Émilion Classification had added to the top tier (occupied for 57 years by only Ausone and Cheval Blanc).

More broadly, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest's involvement in the classification (he is also a winemaking consultant in the region) attracted much debate and legal proceedings. As a result, in 2016, de Boüard's daughter Stéphanie bought her father's shares in the property, becoming sole owner. Her father remains as a co-director.

Despite the negative commentary and press coverage surrounding the 2012 classification (Hubert de Boüard de Laforest was found guilty of "unlawful bias" in 2021), the wines of Angélus are generally held by critics to be among the best in the Saint-Émilion region. 

While Hubert de Boüard remains a controversial figure, his leadership of the estate has been innovate in a number of spheres. Marketing campaigns to introduce the world to Château Angélus include a long-standing association with the James Bond film franchise.

A 1982 vintage of the wine was featured in the 2006 film Casino Royale while the 2005 vintage made a cameo in Spectre (2015) and No Time To Die (2021).