95
James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
Wild-strawberry, blackberry and blueberry aromas with some spices and herbs. It’s full-bodied with a balance of firm yet elegant tannins. The savory mid-palate leads to a clean finale with serious length. Hard not to drink this now, but it needs four or five years to show its true excellence. Second wine of Angelus. Try after 2025.
94 Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux
An excellent vintage at this St Emilion First Growth, but the main wine is nowhere near ready to approach. I suggest looking instead at the second wine, Le Carillon d'Angélus. Expect stewed spiced plums, raspbery and black cherry fleshy fruits, and a ton of smoked earth, liqourice and slate. Still young at three years old, this will deliver already with a good few hours in a carafe but there is no rush to open. 50% new oak. The first vintage that includes the newly-expanded vineyard footprint, with plots in St Christophe de Bardes and a large area near Cheval Blanc and Figeac.
93 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com
I loved the 2018 Carillon D'Angélus. This Merlot-dominated blend (there's 15% Cabernet Franc) offers a healthy ruby/purple color as well as a complex, smoky bouquet of ripe black fruits, graphite, tobacco, and a kiss of earth. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully balanced, it has a sexy, seamless texture, polished tannins, and the class to drink nicely for 15 years or more.
