Château Angélus

The de Boüard de Laforest family's earliest documented ancestor is Georges Boüard, born in 1544, a bourgeois and jurat of Bordeaux. In 1782, Jean de Boüard de Laforest, a king's bodyguard, settled in Saint-Émilion; his daughter Catherine Sophie de Boüard de Laforest married Charles Souffrain de Lavergne in 1795 and set up home on the Mazerat estate, which belonged to her husband. At the beginning of the 20th century, Maurice de Boüard de Laforest inherited the estate and extended it, adding a 3-hectare (7.5-acre) enclosure named Angélus in 1920. He left the property to his sons, Jacques and Christian de Boüard de Laforest, in 1945. Angélus was classified Grand Cru Classé in the first-ever Saint-Émilion classification in 1954. By 1985 the estate exceeded 20 hectares, and that year Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, Jacques' son, took over its management; he was joined in 1987 by his cousin Jean-Bernard Grenié, Christian's son-in-law. Angélus was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé B in 1996 and to Premier Grand Cru Classé A in 2012, the year Hubert's daughter, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, joined the estate's leadership. In October 2021, a Bordeaux tribunal found Hubert de Boüard de Laforest guilty of using his public roles, including on the national appellations committee, to influence the 2012 Saint-Émilion classification, and fined him 60,000 euros, with 20,000 euros suspended. On January 5, 2022, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal announced Angélus's withdrawal of its candidacy from the 2022 classification, citing a system that had become, in the estate's words, 'a vehicle for antagonism and instability.'

• The vineyard sits in a natural amphitheatre overlooked by three Saint-Émilion churches, whose bells inspired the estate's name and its bell emblem
• Hubert de Boüard de Laforest changed the estate's name from Château L'Angélus to Angélus starting with the 1988 vintage, so it would appear earlier in alphabetized lists
• Angélus's withdrawal from the 2022 classification followed those of Château Cheval Blanc and Château Ausone in July 2021, leaving Château Pavie as the sole remaining Premier Grand Cru Classé A estate from the 2012 ranking
• Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal is the third woman to lead the estate, after Catherine Sophie de Boüard de Laforest around 1800 and Eugénie Chatenet around 1900

Château Angélus's grand vin vineyard covers 30 hectares (74 acres) on the south-facing pied de côte of Saint-Émilion, in a natural amphitheatre less than a kilometre from the town's famous bell tower. Soils are clay-limestone, and the vines are planted at a density of 6,500 to 8,500 per hectare depending on soil characteristics, with an average vine age of 39 years. The current vine composition is 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot; Merlot is planted on the hill, where clay is more prevalent, and Cabernet Franc on the sandy clay-limestone soils at the foot of the slope. The estate's total holding spans 135 hectares, including 65 hectares in Saint-Émilion, with the 30-hectare historic core producing the grand vin. The vineyard has been farmed 100% organically since 2018 and was certified organic in 2021. Some of the vines date to 1918, and the estate has roughly 10 hectares of Cabernet Franc more than 60 years old.

• Vine composition for the grand vin: 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, at 6,500 to 8,500 vines per hectare
• Total estate holding: 135 hectares, including 65 hectares in Saint-Émilion and a 30-hectare historic core
• Farmed 100% organically since 2018; certified organic in 2021
• Cabernet Franc was originally called Bouchet in the region; Elisabeth Bouchet was the grandmother of Hubert de Boüard de Laforest

The grand vin, Château Angélus, is aged 22 months, primarily in new fine-grain French oak barrels with medium char, with some of the Cabernet Franc aged in 30-hectolitre foudres. Its blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc varies by vintage; across the estate's published vintage notes from 1988 to 2025 the grand vin blend has run as high as 70% Merlot (2017) and as high as 60% Cabernet Franc (2021), with no Cabernet Sauvignon in the mix in any of those years. The second wine, Carillon d'Angélus, was first released with the 1987 vintage; its 18 designated hectares are planted to 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and it is aged 16 to 18 months, 60% in new oak. No. 3 d'Angélus, from 7 hectares including young Carillon d'Angélus vines, uses the same 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon composition and is made for earlier drinking. Tempo d'Angélus, introduced with the 2019 vintage, is produced from vines the family purchased in 2017 in the communes of Castillon-la-Bataille and Sainte-Colombe, east of Saint-Émilion, and is sold as a generic AOC Bordeaux. The estate also produces a rare 100% Cabernet Franc bottling, Hommage à Elisabeth Bouchet, first made with the 2016 vintage from some of the estate's oldest Cabernet Franc vines.

• Château Angélus (grand vin): aged 22 months, new French oak barrels plus 30hl foudres for part of the Cabernet Franc; blend varies by vintage, Merlot and Cabernet Franc only
• Carillon d'Angélus (second wine, since 1987): 18 hectares, 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 16 to 18 months
• No. 3 d'Angélus: 7 hectares, 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, made for earlier drinking
• Tempo d'Angélus (from the 2019 vintage): from vines purchased in 2017 in Castillon-la-Bataille and Sainte-Colombe; sold as AOC Bordeaux
• Hommage à Elisabeth Bouchet: a rare 100% Cabernet Franc wine first produced with the 2016 vintage

Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, a graduate oenologist of Bordeaux University, took over management of the estate in 1985 and was joined in 1987 by his cousin Jean-Bernard Grenié. His daughter, Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, joined the estate's leadership in 2012, becoming the eighth generation of the de Boüard de Laforest family to run Angélus and only the third woman to do so. As President of Angélus, she has described the role as feeling 'like a priestly vocation,' saying the family are 'only the guardians of a history that preceded us and will survive us.' In October 2021, a Bordeaux tribunal found Hubert de Boüard de Laforest guilty of using his positions on the national appellations committee (INAO) and the Saint-Émilion wine syndicate to influence the 2012 classification that promoted Angélus, fining him 60,000 euros with 20,000 euros suspended.

• Hubert de Boüard de Laforest: graduate oenologist of Bordeaux University; took over estate management in 1985
• Jean-Bernard Grenié, Hubert's cousin, joined the estate in 1987
• Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal: joined estate leadership in 2012; eighth generation, third woman to lead Angélus
• October 2021: Hubert de Boüard de Laforest found guilty of using his INAO and wine-syndicate roles to influence the 2012 classification; fined 60,000 euros (20,000 euros suspended)

Angélus operates two wine cellars. The Carillon cellar, a half-underground building completed for the 2019 harvest, holds 18 inverted truncated-cone vats that operate by gravity and can vinify six different Angélus cuvées; it carries BREEAM sustainability certification. In April 2026, Angélus unveiled a new underground cellar for its grand vin, designed by architect Olivier Chadebost and buried seven metres below ground, with inverted suspended truncated-cone vats made of oak, stainless steel and concrete and an oak roof structure spanning 22 metres; the cellar was built to receive the 2026 vintage. Beyond winemaking, the de Boüard de Laforest family acquired the Logis de la Cadène, a restaurant in Saint-Émilion founded in 1848, in the summer of 2013; its chef, Alexandre Baumard, was awarded a Michelin star in February 2017. The family inaugurated La Maison de la Cadène, a 17th-century mansion in Saint-Émilion, in spring 2016, and the group also owns the restaurant Le Gabriel in Bordeaux.

• Carillon cellar: half-underground, completed for the 2019 harvest, 18 gravity-fed inverted truncated-cone vats, BREEAM certified
• New grand vin cellar: unveiled April 2026, designed by Olivier Chadebost, buried 7 metres underground, built to receive the 2026 vintage
• Logis de la Cadène restaurant (Saint-Émilion, founded 1848): acquired by the family in summer 2013; chef Alexandre Baumard awarded a Michelin star in February 2017
• La Maison de la Cadène, a 17th-century mansion in Saint-Émilion, inaugurated spring 2016; the family also owns Le Gabriel restaurant in Bordeaux

Angélus takes its name and bell emblem from the sound of church bells that once called Saint-Émilion's vineyard workers to prayer, an image also captured in Jean-François Millet's painting 'The Angelus,' held at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The estate has hosted exhibitions of artists including Pierre de Berroeta, Zvy Mihlstein, Jacques Germain, Michel Pourteyron, Benoît Maire and Yohan Berglund, and commissioned illustrator Floc'h to create a series of drawings inspired by Millet's painting. Bottles of Château Angélus have appeared on screen in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Spectre, as well as in La Vie en Rose, Conversations with My Gardener and 22 Bullets, among more than thirty French and international films. The estate commissioned jazz pianist Yaron Herman to create a sound identity for the brand, and each September it hosts 'Les Grandes Heures de Saint-Émilion,' private classical concerts in its cellars that have featured violinists Janine Jansen and Maxim Vengerov.

• The name and bell logo reference the church bells that called Saint-Émilion's vineyard workers to prayer, also the subject of Jean-François Millet's painting 'The Angelus'
• Château Angélus has featured in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Spectre, and in more than thirty French and international films in total
• Jazz pianist Yaron Herman created the estate's sound identity, 'The Angelus Sound'
• 'Les Grandes Heures de Saint-Émilion' brings classical musicians, including violinists Janine Jansen and Maxim Vengerov, for private September concerts in the Angélus cellars

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.angelus.com/en/index.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/a-signature.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/the-legendary-years.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/the-property.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/the-wines.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/the-arts.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/news.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/all-vintages.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/where-chateau-angelus-can-be-found.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/412-saint-emilion-2022-classification.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/technical-data-sheets.html, https://www.angelus.com/en/press-area.html, and the estate's technical data sheets and April 2026 new-cellar press release (PDF). Secondary sources: Decanter (January 5, 2022), Wine Spectator (October 26, 2021), The Wine Cellar Insider. Last verified 2026-09-08. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Spot something off? Contact the estate at angelus@angelus.com.