2005 Chateau Angelus Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe 750 ml

• Merlot
• 2005
• France
• Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

• The Story

  Some wines are so brilliant—so transcendent—that waxing poetic about them is unnecessary.  The 2005 Château Angélus is one of them.  Grown in what’s widely considered the greatest Right Bank vintage ever, it earned 100 points from both Robert Parker and Jeb Dunnuck, putting it in a class with Cheval Blanc ($1,266) and Lafleur ($2,227). It’s just entering its prime now: Parker’s score came a decade after harvest, in 2015. Dunnuck’s came in April 2024, when he called the wine “absolute pure perfection.”

  Read the full story

• Wine Facts
  • Fruit Intensity
  • Oak Intensity
  • Body
  • Acidity
  • Tannin

  • ABV 14.50%
  • 1.5 hours
  • Now - 2035
  • 75% Merlot
    25% Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Serving temperature - 60°
  • Cork
• Wine Access Tasting Note

  Deep ruby in color, with lively ruby tones mixed with garnet flecks throughout. Layered, pronounced aromas of preserved cassis, violets, blueberry compote, vanilla bean, rich leather, tobacco leaf, 80%-cocoa dark chocolate, allspice, lavender, dark cherries, baked strawberry, and crushed rocks. Gorgeously balanced and perfectly tensioned on the palate, with still-fresh acidity and silky tannins woven effortlessly into a tapestry of flavor: crushed graphite, toasted mocha, kirsch, cinnamon, baked raspberries, blackberries, toast, cloves, cedar, and lilacs. The perfect accompaniment to a seared A5 Wagyu, black truffle risotto, or just perfect on its own. Drink now–2040.

• Food Pairings
  • Shellfish
  • Cured Meat
  • Red Meat
• Critic Reviews

  100 pts

  Wine Advocate

  Truly great stuff, this wine performed at a three-digit level both in the horizontal tasting of 2005s in Baltimore, as well as in Montreal at this mini-vertical. This sensational, opaque, bluish/purple wine offers up notes of vanillin, spring flowers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur, plus a touch of licorice. The wine hits the palate with a thunderous cascade of ripe, rich, concentrated fruit. It is full-bodied, multidimensional and layered. The tannins are beautifully integrated but still present, and the wood, acidity, alcohol, etc., are all beautifully assimilated in this magnificent, majestic vintage of Angelus. It can be drunk now, but it is still an adolescent and that suggests it has at least another 25-35 years of longevity.

  100 pts

  Jeb Dunnuck

  The 2005 Château Angelus has been absolute pure perfection every time I’ve been lucky enough to taste it, surpassing the 1990 and rivaling the 2009 and 2018. Based on 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, it has a dense ruby/plum hued to go with mammoth-sized aromatics of red and black currants, smoked tobacco, scorched earth, truffle, and smoke. Incredibly concentrated, full-bodied, and massively concentrated, it has beautiful tannins and flawless balance. While I certainly appreciate the slightly more dialed back, finesse-driven style of Angelus today, tasting this sensational, singular beauty makes me miss this powerful, more opulent style.