The 2020 Angelus Bordeaux Blend is a highly acclaimed wine produced by Angelus in the Saint Emilion region of Bordeaux, France. This red wine is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, with a small addition of Petit Verdot. It has an alcohol content of 14.5% and is sealed with a cork.
James Suckling awarded this wine an impressive score of 99 points, praising its balance and sophistication: "This is wonderfully refined and balanced with such pretty depth. Full-bodied and so polished and pure. Subtle at first, then it takes off and keeps coming. Sophisticated." (jamessuckling.com, 4/27/2021).
Decanter also rated it highly with 97 points, describing it as "A powerful wine with excellent persistence from start to finish. Extremely youthful, tense and focused into one sleek line." The review highlighted the wine's "minty freshness" and "chalky, milk chocolate nuances," noting its long aging potential (Decanter, 1/3/2023).
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate echoed these sentiments, also giving the wine 97 points. William Kelley noted the wine's shift to a more elegant style: "A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, it unwinds in the glass with aromas of cherries, wild berries, rose petals, mint and subtle hints of licorice." Kelley emphasized the wine's "beautifully layered and vibrant palate" and "mouthwateringly chalky finish" (Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 4/6/2023).
Jeff Leve from TheWineCellarInsider.com was equally enthusiastic, scoring it 99 points and describing it as "full-bodied, intense, silky, vibrant and concentrated with multiple layers of perfectly ripe, sweet, cashmere-textured fruits." He suggested that the wine has the potential to achieve a perfect score with more time in the cellar (TheWineCellarInsider.com, 3/21/2023).
Jeb Dunnuck's review, which gave the wine 98 points, emphasized its "beautiful, medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of redcurrants, black raspberries, sandalwood, spring flowers, and smoked tobacco." Dunnuck remarked on its "gorgeous purity, ultra-fine tannins, a round, seamless mouthfeel, and a great finish" (jebdunnuck.com, 3/29/2023).
Vinous, scoring the wine 98 points, noted that the 2020 Angelus is "more linear and focused than any recent vintages." Antonio Galloni highlighted the wine's "terrific energy" and "added freshness" from the use of foudres for aging the Cabernet Franc (Vinous, 6/1/2021).
Wine Enthusiast also rated the wine highly with a score of 99 points, praising its "concentrated tannins laced with a velvety texture" and "strong mineral element" (Wine Enthusiast).
Jane Anson awarded it 97 points, noting its "concentrated and ripe autumnal fruits" and "gorgeous depth of flavor." She mentioned its aging in a mix of oak barrels and large oak casks (janeanson.com, 1/16/2023).
The Wine Independent gave the wine a perfect score of 100 points, describing it as "pure energy" with "a firm backbone of exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins" and a "very long" finish (The Wine Independent, 3/12/2023).
In conclusion, the 2020 Angelus Bordeaux Blend is highly praised across the board for its balance, refinement, and aging potential, making it a standout wine from the 2020 vintage.