1997 Angélus

Wine Details
Producer

Angélus

Place of Origin

France

Saint Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classé "A"

Bordeaux

Color

Red

Grape/Blend

Merlot

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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The cabernet franc picked before October 1 was superb, says Hubert de Bouard, but the late-harvested franc quickly became vegetal and had to be declassified. The merlot came in between September 26 and 29, and Bouard was quick to admit that in St. Emilion "we didn't have the perfect merlot harvest enjoyed in Pomerol." Bouard compares his young '98 to the '95 and '90: "a bit less firm but more opulent than '95, with the chocolatey flavor but not the surmaturite of 1990." Polyphenol levels are practically off the scale in '98, but the '90 was even more tannic, says Bouard. On my early April visit, Bouard told me he would like to do an experimental cuvee in 1999, isolating a half-hectare of vines and removing half the fruit to get the yield down to a mere 22 hectoliters per hectare.

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Hubert de Bouard traces the style and quality of today Angelus back to his meeting with Henri Jayer back in 1986. Beginning with the '88 vintage, he has done part to most of the malolactic fermentation in barrel. Other effects of his conversation with Jayer: he has cut yields, waited to harvest riper grapes, and learned to pick according to the closely defined parcel. "Jayer taught me how to become a vigneron again" is how he puts it. The crop at Angelus was very small in '97, following millerandage and coulure and significant crop-thinning in July. Production was just 30 h/h, says Bouard, of which just 19 h/h was kept for the grand vin The merlot in '97 was much more consistent than the cabernet franc, he adds, and constitutes 60% of the blend.