Stephanie de Boüard to ‘shake up’ Angélus

Stephanie de Boüard, deputy managing director of Château Angélus, believes it is her duty to shake things up a bit and make some changes at the St Emilion estate.

Stephanie de Boüard. Photo credit: Colin Hampden-White

Speaking to the drinks business during a lunch at The Connaught in London to celebrate the launch of a black and gold bottle for the 2012 vintage, de Boüard said: “It’s my duty to follow in my father’s footsteps and make some changes at the estate.

“It is important to put my own stamp on things and bring my own way of doing things to the table. I want to experiment and I have a lot of ideas about the directions I want to take the château in. It’s important to continually innovate as it means that you are progressing.”

Speaking about her new role at the estate, which she has held since 2012, de Boüard admitted that it was a lot of responsibility.

The one-off black and gold bottle for the 2012 vintage of Angélus

“We’ve just bought a restaurant in St Emilion called Logis de la Cadene, so that’s another thing to add to my ‘to do’ list, but fortunately I have a great team around me,” she told db.

The bottle, which will be released later this year, was the brainchild of de Boüard, who wanted to celebrate Angélus’ elevation to Premier Grand Cru Classé “A” status in September 2012 with “something special.”

Replacing the traditional green bottle and yellow label is a black bottle embossed with 21.7 carat gold. As it stands, the design is a one-off for the 2012 vintage.

“We worked with a local company on the design. I knew we had to use the bell as the focal point and I chose a black bottle as it contrasts so well with the gold so the two jump off one another,” de Boüard told db.

The estate has already sold 80% of the 80,000-bottle production in 2012 en primeur, with the final 20% going on sale later this year in select retail outlets.

The unique design will carry no extra cost, though the en primeur price of Angélus 2012 increased by 30% due to the estate’s newfound elevated status.

de Boüard believes that while many were quick to dismiss the 2012 vintage, Angélus 2012 will age gracefully and improve with time in bottle.

“Angélus 2012 is a great wine – we had a good year on the right bank with Merlot, and the Cabernet Franc in the blend really enhances the aromas and flavours.

“It’s very elegant and fine with a long finish. If I had to compare it with another vintage then it would be 1998,” she said.