Chateau Angelus is one of Bordeaux's most famous wineries and one of four château with a Premier Grand Cru Classé A vineyard - the highest quality category in St Emilion. Château Angélus produces wine with a fairly high content of Cabernet Franc in the Bordeaux blend.

The Saint Emillion Grand Cru category includes Carillon d'Angélus, a Bordeaux blend with varying proportions of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, and Nº3 d'Angélus, a Bordeaux blend with up to 80-90% Merlot. 

Advice from an expert

When an oenologist works alone, it is important to get the opinion of a colleague. For many years, Michel Rolland came to Château Angélus 2-3 times a year to determine the harvest date, taste the young wine and sometimes make the final assemblage. But now Michel is only a client. He comes to taste the wine but does not participate in the selection and does not give oenological advice.

The collapse of good wines

Bordeaux has been making wine for 1600 years, so Château Angélus has a long and rich history. When foreigners talk about France, the first city that comes to mind is Paris and then Bordeaux, which in turn is associated with good wine. This is the image Bordeaux has acquired over the last 200 years.
In recent decades, oenology has advanced considerably, with huge amounts of money spent on improving the quality of wine. Even in rainy years, when there is not enough sunshine, the team manages to produce a wine worthy of the Angélus name. And in the past, for example, in 1963, 1965 and 1968, Angélus was not produced - they lost three vintages in ten years.

In the 60s and 70s, Bordeaux used chemistry in the vineyards in excess. At the end of the 80s, there was an epiphany and pesticides were replaced by gentler means. In Bordeaux, the proximity of the ocean and the consequent high humidity that favours mildew and oidium is a serious problem. Vineyard treatments are necessary to avoid rot, so 100% organic wine cannot exist in Bordeaux. When one speaks of organic Bordeaux wine, one is referring to different degrees of organics.

Bordeaux is not only chateaux with a hundred-year history but also people like Jean-Luc Thunevin

A bank clerk bored with his job, with 100,000 francs (15,000 euros), he bought a plot of land smaller than a hectare. He planted vines on it and started making wine, which immediately impressed Robert Parker. Thunevin rusticated the tree on which the old-timers slept. 

One day his Valandraud turned out to be better than the premier cru classe wines. He had broken the hierarchy. For Bordeaux, it was a lightning strike that woke everyone up. All this goes to show that you can't relax: the higher you climb the tree, the more you can be rocked.

In the spring of 2017, there were severe frosts and Château Angélus lost 20% of its grapes, meaning they got off well. Some of their neighbours lost everything. Château Angélus has no way to expand because they are surrounded by powerful neighbours who don't sell anything, or if they do, they sell it very expensively. So the owners of Château Angélus bought a 4.5-hectare vineyard further away, between Cheval Blanc and Figeac, where they make Le Carillon d'Angélus.

And for those who lost the whole crop, it is a catastrophe, because it is necessary to pay salaries to the staff for a whole year, even if the work with the new crop is not carried out. Fortunately, such cataclysms do not happen more often than 4-5 times a century. It is said that vineyards are a money-making luxury. With such a luxury, as you can see, you can lose a lot. In contrast to 2017, 2015 and 2016 were great. 

They made money. But a good host should stock up.

As Christian and his father Maurice de Boüard used to say, you need to have three harvests: one in the bank, one in the cellar and one in the vineyard. And that's the minimum reserve.

Marketing is about giving people what they want to get. Bringing James Bond into the service of Angélus is of that ilk. How did they do it? The fact is that French law forbids the advertising of wine. It's silly for a country with a wine tradition, but Angélus found a way out - product placement in films. One day, the Angélus team approached an advertising agency and asked if they could take a swing at James Bond.

They got the answer that nothing was impossible, the only problem was that Agent 007 drinks gin, and whisky, but not red wine. Time passed and word came that Bond would be drinking red wine in the next Casino Royale film and asked the owners if they wanted it to be Angélus? Angélus jumped at the opportunity and met Barbara Broccoli, a Bond producer who happens to love wine. 

After a while, a gentleman's agreement was reached and the Angélus cases went to Broccoli's family. There was no written contract, only a verbal agreement, which didn't stop Bond from drinking the 1982 Angélus with Vesper Lynd. A trusting relationship developed with the producers, and Angélus made it into the next film, Spectre, as well.

Not to say that all of this has lifted sales, but it has enhanced the reputation in China. For a long time, James Bond was banned in the Middle Kingdom. Since the ban was lifted, the Chinese love him and Angélus is seen as the wine that Bond drinks.

A suit for bankers

You may hear the reproach that Burgundy is left with real peasant winemakers and Bordeaux is full of businessmen in suits. But look: in Burgundy the vineyards in the farms are small, 6-10 hectares, on which one family works. When it is necessary to talk to bankers, the head of the family puts on a suit and tie and then changes into more appropriate clothes for the vineyard and cellar. 

And in Bordeaux, say in Medoc, the farms extend over 60, 100 and 120 hectares. Of course, they have teams of managers who are always in costume, there is a team of cellar masters and a team working in the vineyard. So the cost depends on the size of the farms.

The article as the enemy of marketing

At first, from 1920, there was Château l'Angélus. Until, in 1990, Hubert de Boüard came home excited and angry. In his hands he held a list of "cru classe" in which l'Angélus was somewhere in the middle. Lists are usually formed alphabetically by name, meaning l'Angélus should have been on the letter "A". But the computer was stupid and arranged the household according to the article on the letter "l". So they got rid of the article without regret and got Angélus.

Marketing? Yes, and it paid off. Château Angélus immediately rose to the top of the Cru Classé list. When it became a premier cru classe B, it ranked in front of Beau-Séjour Bécot. And then, in the premier cru classe A category, they overtook Ausone on the list. The owner of Ausone didn't like it at all, and he wasn't the only one.

You can understand the owners of Château Ausone and Château Cheval Blanc: they had a pie divided into two parts, and then Château Angélus and Château Pavie came along and the pie had to be divided into four parts. Of course, they were not happy. In general, the peasant world is filled with envy: everyone looks at their neighbours, who is doing what, who has what. When it hails or frost comes, everything on the right side of the road may be battered and frozen, but on the left everything will be fine - there is bound to be envy.  Although, most likely, the nature of peasants is the same everywhere.

Rain and sunshine in a glass

To this day, many people still believe that Bordeaux has no rivals, that they are still the best in the world. And it's not because of the sunny days. On the contrary, Bordeaux has frequent rains and also the proximity of the ocean. Great Bordeaux wines are made not in hot years, as in California, but when it is both sunny and rainy.

For example, 2009 was marked by sunshine and heat. Robert Parker was delighted, and gave 99 points left and right. The year 2010 came, not so hot, with abundant rain, and brought wonderful wines that no one in the world can replicate. The Bordeaux wines of 2009 are similar to those of California.

In the spring of 2017 there were severe frosts and Château Angélus lost 20 % of its grapes, meaning they got off well. Some of their neighbours lost everything. Château Angélus has no way to expand because they are surrounded by powerful neighbours who don't sell anything, or if they do, they sell it very expensively. So the owners of Château Angélus bought a 4.5 hectare vineyard further away, between Cheval Blanc and Figeac, where they make Le Carillon d'Angélus.

And for those who lost the whole crop, it is a catastrophe, because it is necessary to pay salaries to the staff for a whole year, even if the work with the new crop is not carried out. Fortunately, such cataclysms do not happen more often than 4-5 times a century. It is said that vineyards are a money-making luxury. With such a luxury, as you can see, you can lose a lot. In contrast to 2017, 2015 and 2016 were great.

Obviously, they gave a run for their money. But a good landlord must stockpile.

As Christian and his father Maurice de Boüard used to say, you need to have three harvests: one in the bank account, one in the cellar, and one in the vineyard. And that's the minimum reserve.

Marketing is about giving people what they want to get. Bringing James Bond to Angélus' service is of that ilk. How did they do it? The thing is, French law forbids advertising wine. It's silly for a country with a wine tradition, but Angélus found a way out - product placement in films. One day, the Angélus team approached an advertising agency and asked if they could take a swing at James Bond.

They were told that nothing was impossible, the only problem was that Agent 007 drinks gin, whisky, but not red wine. Time passed and word came that Bond would be drinking red wine in the next Casino Royale film and asked the owners if they wanted it to be Angélus? Angélus jumped at the opportunity, met Barbara Broccoli, the Bond producer, who happens to love wine.

After a while, a gentleman's agreement was reached and Angélus cases went to the Broccoli family. There was no written contract, only a verbal agreement, which didn't stop Bond from drinking a 1982 Angélus with Vesper Lynd. A trusting relationship developed with the producers, and Angélus made it into the next film, Spectre, as well.

Not to say that all of this has lifted sales, but it has enhanced the reputation in China. For a long time, James Bond was banned in the Middle Kingdom. After the ban was lifted, the Chinese love it, and Angélus is perceived as the wine that Bond drinks.

Reasons for the rise

The price hike for Bordeaux wines began in 1995, when Angélus went up 40-50 per cent. That's crazy. Come 1996, and prices went up another 30-40 per cent What was going on? In '93-94, interest rates in the banks sagged a lot. And so people with money wondered where to invest it. The choice fell on wine, and as a result, many new entrants came to the market, who were going to buy wine for resale.

In six, eight, ten months, the price of the product rose by 40, 50, 60 and even 100%. Going further: why are "premier cru classe" so expensive? Because they are rare luxury goods. Everything is clear with the American market, it was formed long ago. But take Asia, where the nouveau riche have appeared relatively recently. What will they spend their money on? French luxury for insane amounts of money.

Many wine experts agree that such wines will not fall in price until an alternative product with similar value appears. A Hermès scarf, a Louis 13 cognac, a bottle of Angélus and a Mouton Rothschild is a demonstration of wealth. In many countries around the world, except France, you have to show that you have money.

In France, if you show money, you get taxed.