2022 Château Angludet, Margaux, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
The intensity of the violet-edged colour extraction is pretty remarkable in the Médoc, and this manages to get the balance right between intensity and appeal, alongside vibrant raspberry, brushed damson and bilberry fruit, given lift by pomegranate and and passion fruit, and a curl of smoked earth. One to look out for, should be great value. 35% amphoras, 65% barrels for ageing.
Jane Anson, janeanson.com (April 2023)
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent (May 2023)
The Bordelais machine has already begun to alienate potential consumers with exaggerated claims to the effect that 2022 is "the best vintage ever"; yet there are some wines that do actually appear to merit such hyperbole, and the 2022 D'Angludet is one of them. Offering up deep aromas of inky cassis, plums, pencil lead and subtle spices, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a broad attack, ripe acids and a supple, seamless profile, concluding with an expansive finish.
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2023)
Really fragrant; you can smell the Petit Verdot with milk chocolate and blackcurrant aromas - open, fresh, appealing, perfumed, generous and lifted. Clean and pure on the palate with a lovely delicacy of flavour and freshness.
Black fruit has concentration, but this keeps a sleek, focused frame - so balanced, moreish and perfectly weighted in the mouth. Juicy, chewy, spiced - complete and long and leaves you wanting more. A complex and mouthwateringly fresh Margaux with tang and style. One to look out for!
3.8pH. A yield of 26hl/ha. Ageing 12 months; 30% amphora, 70% French oak (30% new). The first time in Angludet history that the blend has been finalised before ageing.
Drink 2025 - 2045
Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com (April 2023)
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
Blend: 47% Merlot; 40% Cabernet Sauvignon; 13% Petit Verdot.
This is charming, pretty and perfumed, with plenty of plush red fruit and some Provençal herb notes on the nose. The palate is soft and rounded, with crunchy black cherry fruit and some tasteful, almost spicy oak. Abundant acidity and freshness drive the wine and wrap the whole palate together.
The tannins are nicely balanced. Ben Sichel has moved towards a regenerative and sustainable approach in the vineyard and gentler élevage in the cellar. With the heat of the vintage tamed, this is a successful and long-lived Angludet. It glows like a small polished jewel.
Drink 2027 - 2042
Score: 17/20
Berry Bros. & Rudd (April 2023)
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