Description
Hommage à Elisabeth Bouchet is a tiny-production cuvée that will only be released in the greatest vintages.The first release comes from the already almost mythical 2016 vintage.It is made from old-vine Cabernet Franc (or Bouchet, as it has always been known on the right-bank) from two small parcels in the South-West corner of the Angélus vineyard on the famous pied de côte (the foot of the slope).The vines themselves are of 60-80 years of age, drawing the intense minerality that characterises the wine from the clay-limestone and clay-scree-limestone terroirs on which they are planted through their profound root-systems.
The wine honours Elisabeth Bouchet, great-grandmother of Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, co-owner and CEO of Chateau Angélus – and it is inspired by a rather beautiful history.For it was to honour his beloved Elisabeth Bouchet that the vineyard of Angélus came to be so extensively planted with Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) by her husband, Stephanie’s great-grandfather, Maurice de Boüard de Laforest.
Critical Acclaim
100 points Jeb Dunnuck
Only the second release of this cuvée (it was first produced in 2016 and will be produced in 2019 as well), the 2018 Château Angelus Hommage A Elisabeth Bouchet is 100% Cabernet Franc coming from a single parcel of vines averaging between 60-80 years in age. It was vinified in stainless steel and the aging spanned 18 months in new French oak. It’s another magical wine from this château that somehow manages to marry serious power and richness with a sense of purity and elegance, as well as complexity, that’s something to behold. Deep purple-hued, it offers a sensational array of blackcurrant and cassis fruits intermixed with truffle, spring flowers, and a subtle meaty, baking spice character that develops with time in the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it’s flawlessly balanced, has ultra-fine tannins, and an expansive, seamless, heavenly mouthfeel. Everything is in the right place, and it has perfectly integrated oak along with a gorgeous finish. There are just 849 bottles produced, with a few larger formats, so I expect this to be just about impossible to find in the marketplace (nor will it be cheap), but it’s as fine a Saint-Emilion as has ever been made. It needs a decade of cellaring, and I suspect it will have 40-50 years of overall longevity. (JD, 08/2022)
100 points Wine Advocate
This is the first release of this new 100% Cabernet Franc wine from Chateau Angélus. Deep garnet in color, the 2016 Hommage à Elisabeth Bouchet hits the ground running with an intense, profound nose of blackberry preserves, boysenberries and redcurrant jelly, plus suggestions of beef drippings, black olives, damp soil and unsmoked cigars with wafts of pencil lead and truffles. The full-bodied palate bursts with vibrant, shimmery black and red fruits, inlaid with mineral accents and supported by firm, exquisitely ripe and finely grained tannins. Electric sparks of bright acidity course through the densely packed core, delivering incredible energy and freshness to the finish, leaving you wanting more. That this estate has managed to craft such a complete, jaw-dropping beauty entirely from Cabernet Franc is a triumph and, I hope, not the last of its kind. A masterpiece! (LPB, 08/2021)
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