Château Angélus Tempo d'Angélus Bordeaux 2023

Hands down, one of our favorite all-time estates in Bordeaux to visit is Château Angélus in St. Emilion. Literally everything this 8th generation family does is at such an impeccable level, making this wine an incredible value for such a high pedigree. Wines have been crafted here by the Laforest family and their heirs since 1782. The estate has also been certified organic since 2021.

Tempo d'Angelus is prestigious yet affordable, offering a youthful, approachable, complex Right Bank Bordeaux made of mostly Merlot like the Grand Vin at Angélus. Look for red fruits, spices, flowers and very silky tannins in Tempo.

The vineyard of Château Angélus is situated in a natural amphitheatre overlooked by the three Saint-Emilion churches. In the middle of this special site, the sounds were amplified and the angelus bells could be heard ringing in the morning, at midday and in the evening. They cadenced the working day in the vineyards and villages, calling the men and women to stop their labours for a few minutes and pray.

The great French impressionist painter, Jean-François Millet immortalised this moment of prayer in his magnificent work “The Angelus”, which is now on show in Paris’ Musée d’Orsay. The Angelus devotion has a long history originating in 11th-century monastic custom, but the ringing of a noon bell is attributed to Pope Callistus III, who ordered a prayer for protection against the Turkish invasions of the 1400’s.

The bell on the Château Angélus label recalls the call to prayer and the moment of devotion.