Andrew Jefford | Dark, somber black-red, clearing to scarlet and purple at the rim. Warm, refined, and graceful aromas here: 2016 has brought out a side of Angélus we haven’t often seen before. Very delicate sweet black-cherry and damson fruits, and fine floral notes, too, as well as the more typical vanilla and milk chocolate. Pristine and beautifully crafted aromas. Soft and roundly contoured in the mouth, this too seems to mark a new stylistic evolution for Angélus... or a recognition that the vintage must be what it is. It’s full-flavored, of course, and the old-vine material give it great length and tenacity, but the tannins are limpid and tender, and the wine’s shape in the mouth is much more gracefully traced than usual. Just a little tar at the very end to remind drinkers of the ring of the big bell. | 93

Michael Schuster | Sweetly ripe and subtly oaky to smell; full, concentrated, fresh, and firmly tannic wine; deep, sweet, abundantly flavorful wine, force and power clear, but finesse there, too, long and complex to taste, long and fragrant to finish; a touch of alcohol warmth, for those who are sensitive to it, but clearly a very fine, long-term Angélus. 2035–50+. | 94