2015 Château Angélus, 1er Grand Cru Classé St-Emilion

Extremely dark purplish crimson. Light nose but masses of sweet concentration on the palate. Nothing exaggerated. Just rather drying tannins on the end at the moment. Like Carillon d'Angélus, it has a slight bitterness on the finish but has clearly been made with no shortage of ambition. For the long term.

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.

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.

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