Angludet, and other early releases
Angludet released this morning at the same price as last year. With a floral approach, a nice weight of silky, mid-palate fruit and a savoury finish, 2020 Angludet noses ahead of the 2019 for complexity and depth; the changes that winemaker and owner Ben Sichel has been making here are truly bearing fruit. The wines of the commune of Margaux are by reputation all about perfume and delicacy rather than the sheer power one can find up the road in (say) Pauillac; Angludet admirably captures that Margaux character.
The chateau has not been without its troubles. It was devastated by frost in 2017 (no 2017 Angludet was released at all) and was hit again last month, so 2021 Angludet will be thinner on the ground. The chateau is now prudently investing in some state-of-the-art vineyard heaters. Meanwhile, the adoption of biodynamic viticulture has given a whole new lease of life to the vineyards. In the cellar, amphorae are used alongside a mix of new and old barrels to raise the wine. Where barrels bring depth and development, the amphorae preserve the sheer vitality and freshness of the fruit. It is an attractive combination.
The campaign began last week with some cru bourgeois releases and their right-bank equivalents. Angludet is often the property that fires the real starting gun on the campaign. But it was pipped at the post yesterday by the surprise early release of Cheval Blanc, at a price attractive enough to last year's buyers for it to sell out immediately. Tomorrow is the Ascension Day holiday in France, so we expect a lull. Next week there's rumoured to be Labegorce/Marquis d'Alesme on Monday, the Barton stable on Tuesday, Laroque on Wednesday. But of course that could all change. /NT
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Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment Spring 2023
