CHÂTEAU ANGÉLUS

62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc. 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. Drinking range: 2025 - 2040 Rating: 95 James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2016)

In 2015, Angélus is 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc. It is also one of the most powerful, vertical wines of the vintage. A rush of sweet floral and spice notes appear first, before waves of intense, inky/purplish fruit take hold of all the senses. The tannins need time to soften, probably quite a bit of time, but there is no denying the wine's sheer beauty. I came back to the 2015 several hours later and found a wine that had blossomed beautifully with air. The 2015 will be magnificent once the tannins soften. Readers will have to be patient, as that is likely to take a decade-plus to happen. Rating: 94-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)

The Merlot, which still dominates the blend here at 62%, was picked from September 22nd. Cabernet Franc now accounts for almost half the vineyard at Angélus, but here in the grand vin it makes up 38% of the assemblage, and was picked from October 8th. The alcohol, modest for the vintage at 14.2%, reflects this significant percentage of Cabernet Franc in the blend. This barrel sample has a fascinating, very dark fruit character to the nose, richly spiced and suggesting smoky, pencil-fine dark fruits, substantial and concentrated, but tightly drawn, with a touch of new oak barrel. The palate shows this same character, but here it unfolds to show texture and more generosity, even through the fruit it carries is still dark, toasted, with black cherry skins, brooding rather than perfumed. The structure is ripe, polished, with a defined grip of ripe tannins. The overall appeal of the wine comes in its very taut, very tense, fresh and composed showing, and underneath the spicy barrel notes the raw material is very serious indeed. The tannins feel plush and supremely ripe in keeping with the vintage, although there is a very slight drying twist to them at the finish. A great Angélus in the making here. Rating: 18-19/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)

The 2015 Angelus is a blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, picked from 22 September finishing on 14 October. "We found a nice homogeneity with the Merlot lots," I was told when I visited. "The old Cabernet Franc was very nice, but the younger vines were blended into the second label. This year, it is especially the Merlot that lends a lot of harmony to the wine. This year, the Merlot have some of the qualities of the Cabernet Franc, the precision and freshness. They give the generosity and sweetness." The wine was aged in 100% new oak at 11 degrees Celsius so they could add less sulfur to keep the freshness of the aromas and maintain the elegance of the wine. It offers a complex array of aromas such as black cherry, camphor, oyster shells and Japanese nori, beautifully defined and very focused. The palate is medium-bodied but powerful with layer of svelte tannins and a keen thread of acidity; layers of black fruit laced with spices, baking powder, mint and white pepper. It feels long in the mouth, insistently clinging for a minute after the wine has departed. Oh là là. This is a sexy, but compelling Angelus, fit for "007" and wine-lovers everywhere. Drinking range: 2025 - 2060 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)

This shows the purity of Angelus. I have never tasted a wine from here with such incredible clarity. Full body, full fruit and full beauty. Super silky tannins. A joy to taste. Makes you want to drink it. 62% merlot and 38% cabernet franc. Rating: 99-100 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)