The estate is named for a plot where the bells of three churches — Saint-Émilion, Saint-Martin de Mazerat and the chapel of Mazerat — could all be heard ringing the Angelus at once. The de Boüard de Laforest family have farmed this south-facing slope below the limestone plateau since 1909.
Be clear about the year. 1972 was a cold, late and difficult vintage in Bordeaux, and no honest merchant will tell you otherwise. Nobody buys a 1972 for what is in the glass. What it is worth is the date on the label, and if that is the year that matters to the person receiving it, then this at least is a proper Grand Cru Classé estate from the Right Bank rather than a nameless bottle found to fill a gap.
Angélus in 1972 was decades away from the fame it found in the 1990s, which is precisely why a bottle from a weak year still exists at all.
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Producer: Château Angélus
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Vintage: 1972
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Appellation: Saint-Émilion AOC
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Format: 75cl
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Region: Bordeaux, France
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Style: Red
Where it is likely to be now. 1972 was a weak vintage and at fifty-four years the wine will be pale and thin; this is a collectible dated bottle rather than one to build a dinner around.
Who it suits. For a fifty-fourth birthday, or someone married in 1972 — the year is the whole point, and Angélus is the most distinguished label that year can offer.
Condition. Held as good condition, which here means an intact label, a sound capsule and a normal fill for a bottle of fifty-four years.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
