Twenty vintages of Ch Angélus

A marked changed of gear was evident in the vertical tasting at Ch Angélus I enjoyed during this year’s primeurs tastings in Bordeaux to celebrate Hubert de Boüard de Laforest’s 20 years there. This well-run family property assembled from a painstaking pursuit of contiguous parcels on the lower western flanks of St Emilion grows almost equal quantities of Merlot (M) and Cabernet Franc (CF) plus  a smidgeon of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) which doesn’t always ripen.

This was one of the richer, more flamboyant red bordeaux in the late 1980s and 1990s, presumably partly thanks to Michel Rolland’s input, but from...