Château Angélus

History

The Angelus vineyard is located in the heart of a natural amphitheater, dominated by the three churches of Saint-Emilion. At the heart of this privileged site, where the sounds amplify, you could hear the bells ringing the angelus in the morning, at noon and in the evening. They punctuated the working day in the vineyards and villages, women and men then stopped working to reflect for a few moments.

Less than a kilometer from the famous bell tower of Saint-Emilion, on the famous south-facing "pied de côte", Angelus is the work of a passion written for eight generations by the de Boüard de Laforest family. In 1954, during the first classification of Saint-Emilion, Château Angelus was Grand Cru Classé. He already enjoys a strong reputation that will help him through the Bordeaux wine crisis of 1973 and tackle the oenological revival of the 1980s. It was at this time that Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, an oenologist graduated from the University of Bordeaux, initiated and led an ambitious and innovative policy for wines of excellence.

The Vineyard

A great terroir is more complex than you might imagine. It is not only the soil, the earth, its natural ability to drain, to retain moisture (limestone, clay), its proportion of different elements that will make it hot or cold, rich or poor, balanced or deficient soils. It is also its exhibition in circus, hillside and foothills that are small places and make them exceptional places. Angelus has always been passionate about this grape variety, hence its strong representation. Here, Cabernet Franc is found on warm soils (sandy-limestone scree resting on clays) that naturally benefit from a regular water supply. Cabernet francs express themselves fully after 20 years and it is with vines over 40 years old that the results are the most spectacular, with low yields.