Three meters of elevation, one road, and the difference between Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The market lesson of Château Angélus and the work of winemaker Benjamin.
At Château Angélus we are welcomed by Benjamin, the young winemaker. He is young, yes, but he has the legs of a veteran. He covers twenty five kilometers a day on foot and by bike among the vines. This is how he monitors every single vineyard. As a former cyclist, I look at him with immediate respect. Those twenty five daily kilometers are not folklore. They are the method. At Angélus, attention to detail is not a brochure slogan. It is a physical practice. It is a secular pilgrimage repeated every single morning.
And Benjamin’s daily route explains the secret of this property better than any geological map. On one side of the road, the Merlot sinks into the cool clays of the pied de côte. On the other side, just three meters higher, everything changes. The limestone begins, and with it begins the kingdom of Cabernet Franc.
Three meters. A country road. Two worlds. This is the perfect synthesis of Saint Émilion Grand Cru. Here terroir is not measured in kilometers but in steps. A vigneron who does not walk cannot truly understand his own wine.
The Angélus Bell: when prestige is not a passive income
Château Angélus takes its name from the bells of three surrounding churches. Their sound once reached the winemakers working in the valley. Eight generations of the de Boüard de Laforest family have built this property. Today, the golden bell on the label is one of the most recognizable symbols of French wine in the world.
However, this is where the visit takes an interesting turn. The risk of owning an icon is treating it like real estate. For instance, you might view it as untouchable, static, and eternal. At Angélus, indeed, they do the exact opposite. Furthermore, the family will completely renovate the already magnificent cellar for the 2026 harvest.
And on the market, where almost all of Bordeaux had to cut prices during the recent en primeur campaigns, Angélus did the unthinkable. They did not lower prices. Instead, they raised their price list by 12%.
How? By not resting on their brand. Instead, they actively search for old and new markets. They present the wine to consumers who do not know it yet. Therefore, this approach treats the golden bell as a story to tell from scratch. At a time when Bordeaux questions its commercial future, this is the most important lesson of our visit. Ultimately, prestige is not defended by standing still. It is defended by pedaling, just like Benjamin.
Review and Tasting Note: Château Angélus 2020
The silkiest tannin of our stop in Saint Émilion. A velvet texture slips on the palate without losing structure. The nose is opulent yet clean. It reveals blackberry, black cherry, violet, cocoa, and a balsamic touch.
In the mouth, the limestone Cabernet Franc brings energy and freshness. It enhances the deep fruit of the clay Merlot. These are the three meters of Benjamin’s elevation, reunited in the glass. The finish is long, enveloping, and aristocratic. A Château Angélus 2020 that confirms the absolute greatness of this vintage on the Right Bank.
Right Bank or Left Bank: two Bordeaux philosophies divided by a river
I often cross the Dordogne with my tasting groups. Each time I realize that the true lesson of Bordeaux is in geography, not in glasses. The two banks do not just produce different wines. They embody two completely different ideas of the world.
The Left Bank: neoclassical order and the 1855 classification
The Left Bank includes famous appellations like Médoc and Graves. Here you find the gravels carried by the rivers. On these soils, Cabernet Sauvignon ripens slowly, accumulating structure and austerity. This is the Bordeaux of the legendary 1855 classification ordered by Napoleon III. It is hierarchical, monumental, and aristocratic. It is a world of grand châteaux, huge vineyards, the négociant trade, and wines that require decades of patience. If it were architecture, it would be a neoclassical palace.
The Right Bank: the artisan soul and the future of Cabernet Franc
The Right Bank guards the gems of Saint Émilion and Pomerol. Here the landscape changes. Clays, limestone, and small family properties dominate. Merlot and Cabernet Franc yield fleshier wines. They are more immediate in their generosity, yet capable of dizzying expressive depth.
Here the classification is reevaluated every ten years, with all the usual controversies. In 2022, Angélus chose to leave the system, strong in its own name. If the Left Bank is a palace, the Right Bank is a medieval village. It is more intimate, more vertical, and more unpredictable.
And then there is the question of the grape. On the Left Bank, Cabernet Sauvignon loves the warm gravels that tame its late ripening character. On the Right Bank, the cool limestone, like the three meters of Benjamin and the clay stone of Pavie, is the future. It retains water, cools the roots, and allows Cabernet Franc to become the undisputed protagonist in the era of climate change. It is no coincidence that the great Right Bank estates are silently increasing its percentage in their historic blends.
Leaving Angélus, I think the two banks are like the two hemispheres of a brain. The left is rational, orderly, classified, and architectural. The right is intuitive, earthy, and artisan. Bordeaux is great because it holds them together. And Benjamin, with his twenty five daily kilometers between clay and limestone, is the living proof. Even the most famous wine in the world, in the end, is made with your feet.
