Château Angélus - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 1994

Wine Advocate

/ 100

byRobert Parkerthe9/1/1998

Another inky, purple/black-colored wine, the 1994 offers up heavenly scents of smoked meats, barbeque spices, hickory wood, and plenty of cassis and kirsch liqueur. The fruit's phenomenal purity and denseness, as well as its overall balance is admirable in view of the massive, muscular personality of this huge, full-bodied wine oozing with extract. It is a tour de force in winemaking. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2020. Last tasted 1/97

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/28/1997

In the new classification of St.-Emilion, justice was certainly served with the elevation of Angelus to premier grand cru classe status. No Bordeaux estate has been making as concentrated and consistently high quality wines as has Angelus since 1988. Even in the rain-plagued vintage of 1992, Angelus produced a wine of uncommon power, ripeness, and intensity. This estate is in many ways symbolic of what heights Bordeaux can achieve when a property is managed by someone as passionate and driven as Hubert de Bouard. As I have been writing for the last decade, these are wines to buy at first release; they can only go up in price given their quality. Another inky, purple/black-colored wine, the 1994 offers up heavenly scents of smoked meats, barbeque spices, hickory wood, and plenty of cassis and kirsch liqueur. The fruit's phenomenal purity and denseness, as well as its overall balance is admirable in view of the massive, muscular personality of this huge, full-bodied wine oozing with extract. It is a tour de force in winemaking. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2020.

Wine Spectator

92 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe1/31/1997

Angélus continues its hot streak. Super color and concentration for the vintage. Exotic aromas of berries, red fruits, toasted oak and minerals. Full-bodied, with full, silky tannins and a long minty, fruity finish. Fine for drinking now. Best after 1999. 10,000 cases made.

Wine Advocate

92-94 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/30/1996

The 1994 continues to be one of the blockbuster wines of the vintage, exhibiting huge color saturation, massive, sweet, ripe, opulent fruit, full body, and an exotic, chocolatey, olive, roasted herb, jammy black-cherry set of aromatics and flavors. Still tannic and powerful, with fabulous concentration, this is an intense, rich wine that should be close to full maturity in 4-6 years and keep for 20-25+. All of the wines in this segment were tasted between March 19 and March 28 in Bordeaux. Most of the important wines from both the 1994 and 1995 vintages were tasted three separate times during my ten-day stay in Bordeaux

Wine Advocate

93-96 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/30/1995

What hasn't this estate done right since the 1988 vintage? St.-Emilion's most consistent wine since 1988, and Bordeaux's most concentrated wine since 1990, L'Angelus has turned in a monumental performance in 1994. Is it St.-Emilion's answer to the 1990 Montrose? Proprietor Bouard feels the 1994 L'Angelus is more classic than the 1990, and just a notch below it in quality. It contains more Cabernet Franc (55%) than usual, with the balance Merlot. Unquestionably a great wine, as well as one of the potential "wines of the vintage," it will require considerable cellaring, so those who lack patience are advised to search out the more forward 1992 or 1993 L'Angelus. The color is an inky, opaque black/purple, and the nose offers up intense aromas of cassis, roasted nuts, herbs, vanillin, licorice, and spices. It is magnificently concentrated, with gobs of sweet tannin, unbelievable extraction of flavor, decent acidity, and a knock-out, mind-bogglingly long finish. Do not expect this wine to be ready to drink before the turn of the century. It is potentially a 50+ year wine. If you have not yet discovered how great the wines of L'Angelus have been since 1988, isn't it about time?