94pts Decanter
Succulent and softly supple, this has lots of energy and pace with bright red fruits, raspberries and cherries, alongside sweet spices and perfumed nuances. The acidity is so well judged it lifts the palate and delivers the individual elements with precision and poise, so you get a playful, friendly and upfront wine offering so much pleasure. I love the clarity here too, the sheer chalky and saline texture on the tongue; it feels clean and clear with a pristine quality. This will be a fabulous wine! 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.72pH. The first vintage to be vinified in the new winery which was completed just in time for the harvest.
92-93pts James Suckling
A firm and linear young red with currant and graphite character. Medium body. Fresh finish. Crunchy acidity. 63% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, 13% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.
92pts Jane Anson
In bottle, this has a beautiful curl of rosebuds and peony flowers, with a delicate tannic frame, loganberry and blackberry fruits, salinity on the finish, and it has filled out well through the mid palate over ageing. Good quality. 3.73ph. 50% new oak, 60IPT, Lucie Lauilhé first vintage as technical director, and first vintage in new cellar.
92pts Wine Advocate
The 2021 d'Armailhac has turned out beautifully, bursting with attractive aromas of minty cassis and blackberries mingled with notions of pencil shavings and sweet pipe tobacco. Medium to full-bodied, ample and polished, it's supple and seamless, with a fleshy core of fruit and a licorice-inflected finish. En primeur, I compared this to a modern-day version of the estate's immensely charming 1999, and anyone who remembers the 1999 will find that the 2021 delivers just as wide a drinking window.
91pts Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Château D'Armailhac is terrific and, like all the releases under the Mouton-Rothschild umbrella, it has terrific depth of fruit and impressive richness. Ripe cassis, smoky tobacco, graphite, and ample minerality all emerge from this medium-bodied, beautifully balanced 2021. It plays in the fresher style of the vintage yet has a great mid-palate, good concentration, and a great finish. It will shine with just 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise for 15+ years in cold cellars.
91pts The Wine Independent
A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, the 2021 d’Armailhac has a deep garnet-purple color. It skips out of the glass with energetic scents of juicy raspberries, cranberries, and red cherries, followed by hints of pencil shavings and lavender. The light to medium-bodied palate is refreshing, with loads of spring in its step, featuring approachable tannins and a red berry lift on the finish.
90pts Vinous
The 2021 d'Armailhac is very pretty, expressive wine driven by strong Cabernet Sauvignon inflections. Crushed flowers, herbs, mint, blood orange and earthy notes abound. It's a wine from a cold year, to be sure, but all the elements are nicely balanced. There's terrific purity here.
- Antonio Galloni, December 2023
90pts Vinous
The 2021 d'Armailhac, which was bottled mid-May, has an attractive nose with perfumed blackberry and blueberry fruit, the oak here seamlessly integrated-quite "Mouton" in style. A mini-Mouton perhaps? It becomes much plusher than the Clerc Milon after 10 minutes in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, taut and linear, with grainy tannins, a pronounced graphite element and a pliant, Merlot-driven finish, making it quite approachable in style.
-Neal Martin, November 2023
History
An 1855 Classified Growth, Château d’Armailhac is bordered to the north by Château Mouton Rothschild. It has 76 hectares (187 acres) of south-facing vines with an average age of 40 years, stretching over three gravel banks that embrace all the typical features of the Pauillac appellation.
The terroir, mostly comprising deep gravel, clay or clay-limestone and gravelly sand, is planted with classic Médoc grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%).
The Cabernet Franc vines, which have an average age of 60 years, are mostly planted on the Plateau des Levantines, an ideal terroir in which they can put down deep roots. Derived from ancestral massal selections, these remarkable Cabernet Francs make up a relatively high proportion of the blend and are a hallmark of the wine.
Château d’Armailhac takes its name from the d’Armailhacq family who purchased the estate in 1660. Its history is bound up with that of pioneers of modern winegrowing such as Armand d’Armailhac.
The estate was acquired by Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) in 1933, then inherited by his daughter Philippine de Rothschild (1933-2014). It now belongs to her three children, Camille and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, who, with passion and the same attachment to the terroir, continue the family’s quest for excellence and innovation in the vineyard and winery.
Château d’Armailhac is a fine wine, typical of the Pauillac appellation, with an elegant classicism regardless of the vintage, and a robust and refined tannic structure.
