2023 Carillon d'Angélus, St Emilion, Bordeaux

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.

Crimson hue. Lifted floral nose. Sweet attack, the fruit filling the mid palate. Fine tannins with a slight chalky edge. A degree of tension, the finish perhaps a touch hard.

Drink 2028 - 2038

The 2023 Carillon d’Angélus is juicy, supple and quite inviting. Soft contours wrap around a core of plum, red cherry, cedar, new leather, licorice and pipe tobacco. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Bright, saline notes from the Franc add freshness to complement the forward Merlot fruit.

Drink 2025 - 2035

The second wine from Angélus, the 2023 Le Carillon D'Angélus is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc raised in 60% new oak, with the balance in stainless steel. Beautiful black raspberries, cassis, graphite, and spicy, floral notes give way to a medium-bodied, nicely balanced, concentrated 2023 offering fine tannins and the juicy, vibrant, elegant style of the vintage.

The 2023 Le Carillon d'Angélus, as usual a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, exhibits attractive aromas of cherries, raspberries and blackberries mingled with hints of exotic spices, vine smoke and violets. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and polished, it's layered and enveloping, with a charming, seamless profile and a long, mouthwatering finish. As readers will by now remember, this bottling is no longer a "second wine" per se but rather draws on some 25 hectares of dedicated vineyards, emphasizing Merlot from the cool terroirs of Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, complemented by holdings in the gravelly Figeac sector and on clay soils near Angélus itself—with anything that doesn't make the cut relegated to the No. 3 d'Angélus.

Bright violet and plum colour, vibrating with life, an easy wine to recommend as it no doubt will be to drink, love the depth and the rich damson fruit expression that combines with black chocolate, liqourice and cocoa with a juicy finish.

Drink 2027 - 2037

There’s depth and beauty to this wine. It offers crunchy fruit, a chalky undertone and a hint of raw coffee bean. Medium body. Fine tannins. Bright and transparent. 90% merlot and 10% cabernet franc.