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. One of the four or five most concentrated wines of the vintage this opaque black/purple-colored 1993 offers an intensely fragrant nose of smoke olives chocolate black fruits hickory and sweet spicy oak. Amazingly rich and full-bodied with massive extract it is almost unbelievable that this wine could have been produced in a vintage such as 1993. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 15-18 years.

As outstanding as we remember from barrel. Ripe and seductive a full-bodied St.-Emilion that stands out for this vintage. Oozes with plum red berry chocolate tobacco and smoke flavors. Beautiful texture elegant tannins and an impressive finish. Best after 1998. 9583 cases made. –JS