The family traces its history back to Georges Bouard, who was  born in 1544 and was a member of the bourgeoisie and the Bordeaux Jurat, according to the estate's website.

The modern estate's origins date from 1782, when Jean de Bouard de Laforest settled in Saint Emilion, just seven years before the French revolution. In 1795, at the height of the revolutionary turmoil and as Napoleon was rising through the ranks of the army, Catherine Sophie de Bouard de Laforest, Jean's daughter, married Charles Souffrain de Lavergne and moved onto her husband's Mazerat estate.

Maurice de Bouard de Laforest inherited the estate in the early 20th century, according to the chateau website. He added a three-hectare enclosure called Angelus in 1920 and left it to his sons Jacques and Christian in 1945, as the second world war was ending. 

Angelus received its classification in 1954, subsequently expanding to exceed 20 hectares by 1985. Hubert de Bouard de Laforest, son of Jacques, assumed the running of the property that year, and was joined in 1987 by Jean-Bernard Grenie, a cousin and son-in-law of Christian.

Hubert's daughter Stephanie de Bouard-Rivoal, who now runs the estate, joined him in 2012, the year the estate was promoted to its classification of Premier Grand Cru Classe `A',  placing it among the top four estates in Saint Emilion alongside Chateau Ausone, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Pavie. Hubert's nephew Thierry Grenie de Bouard joined the management in 2016.