Angelus

Tasting Notes:
A brilliant effort from this 60 plus acre vineyard run with perfection by proprietor Hubert de Bouard, the 2006 is a classic blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc. An inky/blue/purple color precedes a bouquet of charcoal, blueberries, blackberries, vanilla, and roasted coffee. Revealing no hardness from unripe tannin, it is an opulent, fleshy, sensationally rich effort with a fabulous texture as well as a long finish. Only slightly below the quality of the monumental 2005, the 2006 will be drinkable early, and should last for 20 years. The natural alcohol is approximately 14%. Wine Advocate # 170 Apr 2007.
Parker Points: 92-95
Drinking Period: 2007-2027

Tasting Notes:
This chateau has been turning out such spectacular wines that it is not surprising it was elevated in the recent reclassification of St.-Emilion. Any Bordeaux lover would be thrilled to have either of the 1989 or 1990 in his or her cellar. Both wines reveal an opaque purple color, with the 1990 slightly more inky. Both wines are also exceptionally endowed, backward, rich, full-bodied, and crammed with fruit. The 1990 is softer than the 1989 (because of the vintage's greater ripeness), as well as lower in acidity, giving it a marginally more forward and flattering set of aromatics and flavors. However, the impression is one of a big, beefy, thick, super-rich wine offering that tell-tale L'Angelus nose of smoky vanillin oak, olives, jammy cassis, and spice. Picking a favorite between these two fabulous examples of their respective vintages is - for me - presently impossible. I will probably end up drinking the 1990 before the 1989, but both wines are 25-30-year wines, with the 1989 possibly reaching full maturity in 5-6 years, and the 1990 needing several more years of cellaring. Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate.
Parker Points: 96
Drinking Period: 2002-2027