CH ANGELUS ST EMILION 750ML 2020

A deep and rich nose, but so pure, clear and clean, it smells beautiful. The aromas really shine in the glass, too, with a texture that is smooth and supple, giving and generous. A powerful wine with excellent persistence from start to finish. Extremely youthful, tense and focused into one sleek line and, although you get ripe fruit – black berries, cassis, with some gorgeous bitter orange peel nuances – there’s so much minty freshness too. Concentration but no overt heaviness, discreet power. I love the chalky, milk chocolate nuances – well built and complex with a clear backbone and long ageing potential. Brilliant winemaking on show.

The 2020 Angélus has turned out superbly and underlines this estate's continuing shift to a more elegant, integrated style that offers a purer expression of its terroir. 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, followed by a medium to full-bodied, beautifully layered and vibrant palate that's deep, precise and penetrating, concluding with a mouthwateringly chalky finish. Some 120 hectoliters of Cabernet Franc, amounting to around 20% of the blend, were matured in foudre this year, which no doubt helps to account for the significantly reduced oak impact in the 2020.

The 2020 Angélus has a more awkward nose than its peers, lacking the same focus and delineation. There is something Cabernet Sauvignon-like about this, though it coheres in the glass and conveys an appealing sense of classicism. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. It's a touch more ferrous than its peers but is very well balanced with a cerebral and persistent finish. This will require several years in bottle, yet it will be worth the wait. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.