Chateau Angelus 1995

This was one of the first top St Emilions I ever tried, in my very few first months in the trade. It was the first really youthful wine I found unpleasant to drink but convinced it would get better. It was leafy, backwards, bitingly tannic and with almost no fruit to speak of - to be honest, it was like drinking leafy tar. But for some reason, I thought it was going to be ace with time. I tried it again, a couple of years later. It had not aged a second. Same backwards, impenetrable beast.

Needless to say, I was rather curious when an open bottle appeared last month.

Still very dark in the core, but with pretty, fading ruby rim.

Quite pencil-y on the nose. Bruised plum and allspice. Kinda rusty. A rustic sweetness as well, with leafy notes.

The last time I drank this, it was impenetrable. Dark and grippy and hardly showing any fruit; now it's come out of its shell. Rich, crunchy plum and plum skin with a deep, layered, velvety tannin structure lifted by surprisingly bright acidity. The periphery brings that nice leafiness from the nose. Very well integrated and quite classic. The sweetness balances beautifully with the more serious, bitter and savoury side of things. Still brilliant grip.

*****


Tasted 26/04/2011