2021 Château Angludet, Margaux, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
The 2021 Château d'Angludet contains less Merlot and more Petit Verdot due to the three-week frost. Daisy Sichel told me that it was aged in 50% amphora this year. It has a relatively light yet well-defined bouquet featuring strawberry and red cherry scents. The palate delivers fine tannins framing the red fruit, quite Burgundian in texture, and hints of graphite, leading to a nicely poised finish. Curiously, the Petit Verdot is quite disguised given the amount used.
Neal Martin, vinous.com, (May 2022)
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent (May 2022)
A sterling name in the Margaux appellation, often offering outstanding value in muliple vintages. They have leaned into the vintage charater not trying to fight against it, and what you get as a result is savoury juic red and black fruits, with waves of Margaux-signature florality. 26hl/h yield after frost. 50% amphora, 50% oak barrels.
Drink 2025 - 2032
Jane Anson, janeanson.com (May 2022)
Mid crimson. Rather alluring ripe nose. Very soft and round. Not a long-distance runner but a true Margaux-style wine for early drinking. There’s even a hint of an ethereal quality about this. GV?
Drink 2025–2034
Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com (May 2022)
About this WINE
Château Angludet
Château d`Angludet is a Cru Bourgeois property that now regularly produces wines of grand cru classé quality. D'Angludet is located in the Margaux appellation and its vineyards are situated at the 3-way intersection of the Cantenac, Arsac and Labarde communes.
The late Peter Sichel purchased d'Angludet in 1961 and it became his home for the next 37 years. The vineyards and cuverie were in a deplorable condition when Sichel took over and it is due to his sheer will and determination that d`Angludet enjoys its high reputation today.
D'Angludet's 32 hectares of vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (58%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (2%). The grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks and the wine is then aged in oak barriques (25-33% new) for 12 months. The wine is bottled unfiltered.
Margaux
If Pauillac can be seen as the bastion of ‘traditional’ Red Bordeaux, then Margaux represents its other facet in producing wines that are among Bordeaux’s most sensual and alluring. It is the largest commune in the Médoc, encompassing the communes of Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labaude, in addition to Margaux itself. Located in the centre of the Haut-Médoc, Margaux is the closest of the important communes to the city of Bordeaux.
The soils in Margaux are the lightest and most gravelly of the Médoc, with some also containing a high percentage of sand. Vineyards located in Cantenac and Margaux make up the core of the appelation with the best vineyard sites being located on well-drained slopes, whose lighter soils give Margaux its deft touch and silky perfumes. Further away from the water, there is a greater clay content and the wines are less dramatically perfumed.
Margaux is the most diffuse of all the Médoc appelations with a reputation for scaling the heights with irreproachable wines such as Ch. Margaux and Ch. Palmer, but also plumbing the depths, with too many other châteaux not fulfilling their potential. There has been an upward shift in recent years, but the appellation cannot yet boast the reliability of St Julien. However, the finest Margaux are exquisitely perfumed and models of refinement and subtlety which have few parallels in Bordeaux.
Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Margaux, Ch. Palmer, Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Ch. Rauzan-Ségla , Ch. Dufort-Vivens, Ch. Ferrière, Ch. du Tertre, Ch. Giscours, Ch. d'Angludet.
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
Cabernet Sauvignon 53%, Merlot 24%, Petit Verdot 23%
Ben Sichel’s efforts towards minimal intervention and biodynamics have allowed the vineyard to reach a level of balance such that fertilisers are no longer needed. The vineyard could roll with the punches of the growing season, yielding wonderful, healthy fruit. Half the grand vin is raised in amphorae, giving the tannins a creamy, silky texture. Spring frost reduced the yield to 29hl/ha, but this is a smooth, rounded, complete wine with no weaknesses, with seductive blackcurrant-jam and juicy-cherry notes. Petit Verdot’s rugged edge is softened by the amphorae while still giving the necessary backbone. Drink 2024-2035.
Our score: 16/20
Berry Bros. & Rudd, April 2022
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