Panic and turmoil bubbled up in the exquisitely picturesque town filled with medieval Romanesque buildings. In this town, Saint-Émilion, tucked away in the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region of France, there were going to be three significant omissions in the distinguished St.-Émilion wine classification, established in 1955. Three out of the four top-ranking wine estates had decided to remove themselves from the classification and one in particular, Château Angélus, was the only estate to work itself up all the different levels of the classification, increasing quality to such a degree that it was finally listed as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A in 2012.
Château Angélus is celebrating the liberation from the classification by placing a special edition of the 2022 vintage on the market as a future that will arrive in 2025. And considering that 2022 is an excellent vintage for Saint-Émilion estates in particular excelling as well as a unique bottling design for the 2022 Château Angélus, featuring real 20-carat gold and mother of pearl, it is going to be a must-have bottle for Bordeaux collectors. Yet luckily, the second wine of Château Angélus, Le Carillon d’Angélus, will be released in November of this year.
Photo Credit: Château Angélus
However, there have been many controversies throughout the years, as the 2006 classification was challenged by a few producers who were demoted. Then, in 2012, a few more producers claimed there were procedural errors in the selection process. Although Château Angélus climbed to the highest status of the classification, Premiers Grand Crus Classés A, it was time for them to leave: fellow estate owners were crossing the street to avoid each other in the beautiful town of Saint-Émilion because of bitter resentment and the owner/winemaker of Château Angélus, Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, and his daughter Stéphanie, felt that they didn’t want to be constrained by the classification in regards to expressing the pure terroir for each vintage. Hubert still respects the St.-Émilion Classification and thought they had always done a good job but the contentiousness that has only grown over time in his beloved birthplace of Saint-Émilion was a toxic energy taking too much focus away from his estate, so it was time to leave.
St.-Émilion Classification
The most famous wine classification is the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, which only lists wines located on the Left Bank, such as Château Lafite Rothschild. The Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, specifically in St.-Émilion, created its own classification in 1955. Instead of having the classification carved in stone (with a couple of exceptions), they decided to reevaluate the classified châteaux by checking their vineyards and a decade of vintages of their wines every ten years; it is the only classified wine area in Bordeaux that does such constant rigorous work in making sure that each spot is continually earned.
At the time, Château Angélus noted in a press release, “Once a source of progress, the Saint-Émilion classification has become a vehicle for antagonism and instability.” While they regretted the “deleterious context,” they were given no choice but to take “note of it.”
A New Milestone
The de Boüard family has been in Bordeaux since the mid-1500s, and in the early 1900s, they acquired vineyards in St.-Émilion that included the section of vines that is known as Angélus. That section was always known to have outstanding potential but it is recognized that the Château Angélus wines did not live up to that potential until Hubert came back to his family’s estate in the 1980s after studying with the legendary enologist and researcher Émile Peynaud. The 1989 vintage was an excellent success for Château Angélus and many wine critics saw it as a rising star. Today, it is a well-established star that has reached the ultimate height in classification status.
Photo Credit: Château Angélus
When it comes to the presentation of the design of the bottles, there have been three very important renditions that are rooted in the soul of Château Angélus. There is the historical label with the bell on it, which is known on the bottles of most vintages, as Château Angélus is in a natural amphitheater overlooked by three Saint-Émilion churches that would ring their angelus bells during time of prayer, letting the people working in the vineyards know it was a time for a short rest to reflect on the meaning of living a purposeful life.
Today, that bell holds an important meaning for Hubert and his daughter Stéphanie as it reminds them that they should never lose sight of the real work needed to make outstanding wines and always keep their minds steady on that primary purpose.
***Link to original Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathrinetodd/2024/09/29/prestigious-wine-estates-first-vintage-marks-leaving-an-esteemed-bordeaux-classification/
Photo Credit: Château Angélus
The second bottling edition was for the 2012 vintage, which celebrated their Premiers Grand Crus Classés A promotion in the Saint-Émilion classification and it was a stunning bottle with a raised gold inscription replacing the traditional paper label. Now, with the 2022 bottling, featuring real 20-carat gold and mother of pearl designed to represent astral constellations as in the words of Hubert’s daughter, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, illustrates their “unique path by freeing” Château Angélus from “certain constraints.” This bottling marks them entering another dimension that places them on a “quest for excellence” down to every little detail.
In a way, they have come full circle with a fierce recommitment to the values that Château Angélus was founded on, relentless work to accomplish a higher goal greater than any one person or organization. But today, their vineyards are managed with precise, organic practices spearheaded by Stéphanie and a high-tech winery with minimal intervention methods employed. Just like Hubert brought a new era for Château Angélus when he first started, his daughter has been doing the same since she joined full-time in 2012. Hubert made Château Angélus a star, and it seems that Stéphanie is aiming beyond the stars.
