1. Home
2. News

Chateau Angelus to step up wine tourism focus

The eighth generation of the family responsible for running the estate, de Bouard said that oenotourism would play a much larger role at Angleus going forward – an unprecedented move for the Premier Grand Cru Classe A Chateau.

“Previous generations haven't shown any interest in hospitality or tourism, but I felt this needed to be an important part of what we do at Angelus,” said de Bouard.

“Some members of the board, for example, were concerned when I voiced my desire to purchase the restaurant Logis De La Cadene, but after running it successfully for several years, I'm ready to take on more projects.”

According to de Bouard, the estate recently purchased a small hotel in St-Emilion, Auberge de la Commanderie, with plans to renovate the property in 2018.

“I'm also very open to buying a second restaurant – I've asked my head chef, Alexandre Baumard, to keep a lookout,” she said.

De Bouard also voiced her desire to bring 'a personal touch” to the Grand Vin, with a heightened emphasis on 'freshness and elegance' rather than simply power.

“Angelus is a great wine, but I'm considering reducing the oak influence on the Grand Vin,” she said. “We currently typically use 100% new French oak for a period of up to 22 months, but in future vintages we may scale that back somewhat – time will tell.”

Meanwhile, Angelus is set to commence construction of a new winery this autumn, in order to expand production of its second wine – Le Carillon de L'Angelus.

'Ideally, I'd like to produce 80,000 bottles, as opposed to the 40,000 we currently make,” said de Bouard.

Speaking about the future of Angelus, de Bouard admitted her biggest fear was being forced to sell the estate to outside investors, an all too regular occurrence in France.

“In recent times, several parties have enquired about purchasing Angelus, including a major conglomerate,” she said.

• wine
• Wine Tourism
• French Wine