Château Angélus becomes a Premier Grand Cru Classé A..bsent from Saint-Émilion

fter coming out on the wrong side of the legal saga revolving around the 2012 Saint-Emilion classification, Chateau Angélus is cutting its losses for the 2022 review. Premier Grand Cru Classé A since 2012, the property “is withdrawing its candidacy for the next classification”, as announced by press release on 5 January. The statement specified that although “the Saint-Emilion classification has long been an amazing tool for healthy collective competition, effectively promoting the appellation, [its financial consequences] have made it the target of a system of disparagement that has culminated in numerous legal proceedings”.

Whilst the classified growth has excelled in the latest James Bond films, it has also made the headlines through its family's involvement in Bordeaux's representative bodies. Now run by Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, Château Angélus was managed by Hubert de Boüard de Laforest at the time of the 2012 classification. Co-owner of the Grand Cru Classé Château Angélus and a consultant for seven applicant properties, he was carrying out public service duty (as chair of the Saint-Émilion appellation and member of the INAO (Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité) standing wine appellation committee) when the 2012 classification rules were being drafted (following the legal annulment of the 2006 classification). In 2016, the court dismissed his case against articles on the issue by journalist Isabelle Saporta (Vino Business) then sentenced him in 2021 to a €60,000 fine for “unlawful taking of interest”.

The de Boüard family, which is personally targeted by these legal contentions, has also noted that the 2022 classification is already being sued by two estates (successfully, as recently revealed by Vitisphere). “The Saint-Emilion classification has gone from being a source of progress, to a vehicle of antagonism and instability”, comments Château Angélus, which “takes note of this and is leaving this system by withdrawing from the 2022 classification”.