Chateau d’Angludet Margaux Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau d’Angludet Margaux with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairings. Learn about the best vintages, ratings, a history of the property, information on the vineyards, and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau d’Angludet History, Overview

Chateau d’Angludet, is one of the oldest Bordeaux wine properties. In fact, Chateau d’Angludet can be traced all the way back to 1150! The name of the chateau means “angle of high land”.

Jumping ahead several hundred years to 1791, after the owner of that time passed away, the holdings of Chateau d’Angludet was divided between his four legal heirs. One hundred years later, in 1891, the Left Bank estate of Chateau d’Angludet was brought back together again. At that time, the 130-hectare d’Angludet estate included 55 hectares of vines.

Chateau d’Angludet The Modern Age

After the majority of the Chateau d’Angludet vineyard was destroyed by the 1956 frost, the owners gave up on winemaking at their Medoc vineyard and replanted the vineyards with wheat and barley.

The owner thought that type of agriculture would make him more money than growing grapes for making Bordeaux wine. He ended up selling Chateau d’Angludet in 1961 to Diana and Peter Sichel.

The Sichel family were already well-known Bordeaux negociants who own the firm Maison Sichel and also maintain a large ownership stake in Chateau Palmer. The Sichel family has deep roots in Bordeaux, having been there since 1883. At the time of the purchase, the vineyards of d’Angludet were in such poor shape due to the frost of 1956, that less than 7 hectares were still planted to vines. That is not the case any longer.

The Sichel’s invested large sums of money to bring d’Angludet back into shape. They replanted the vineyards, adding more Petit Verdot to the vineyard, and completely renovated and modernized their wine-making facilities. The Sichel family still owns and manages Chateau d’Angludet today.

Chateau d’Angludet was one of the first estates in the Left Bank to embrace green harvesting, hoping to reduce yields naturally. That practice started in 1988. d’Angludet has another first to their credit, they were one of the first estates in the Medoc to practice ecological pest control as well as to practice green harvesting.

Chateau d’Angludet Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes Winemaking

The 32 hectare vineyard of Chateau d’Angludet is part of a much larger property, which is 81 hectares in total. The vineyard is planted to 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 13% Petit Verdot. This shows a decrease in the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, which was compensated by adding more Merlot and Petit Verdot since the mid-1990s. The Cabernet Franc vines have all been removed.

The vines are planted to a density of 6,666 vines per hectare to 7,300 vines per hectare. The terroir is mostly sand, gravel, and clay soils. The vines are located inland, in the southwest corner of the Margaux appellation.

The vineyard is basically in one large parcel in the commune of Arsac. A single parcel of that size in the Margaux appellation is truly, quite scarce. They also have vines that are planted in the Cantenac sector, just inland, off the D2, The Route du Medoc.

Here, they have a slightly cooler terroir, making it hard for the berries to reach the same level of ripeness as some of their more illustrious neighbors. The grapes are machine harvested. The vineyard was certified as 100% biodynamic in 2022.

To produce the wine, Chateau d’Angludet is vinified in traditional, large, concrete vats. Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. The wine is then aged in a combination of 33% clay amphora, 33% new, French oak barrels and the remainder of used barrels for 12 to 14 months depending on the character of the vintage. Though, it should be noted that some vintages are aged using 50% amphora. On average Chateau d’Angludet releases close to 10,000 cases of wine per year. There is a second wine, La Ferme d’Angludet.

The best vintages of Chateau d’Angludet are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2001 and 2000.

When to Drink Chateau d’Angludet, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau d’Angludet can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1-2 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau d’Angludet is usually better with at least 5-7 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau d’Angludet offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 8 and 15 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau d’Angludet, with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau d’Angludet is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. The wine will also gently warm in the glass, releasing its aromatics.

d’Angludet is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau d’Angludet is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.

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