Chateau d'Armailhac Pauillac 2019 - 750ml

96pts James Suckling

Very attractive nose of fresh currants, red berries and paprika. Fine-grained, with a medium to full body and a long, precise finish. One of the best from a vertical tasting at the chateau. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 27% merlot, 9% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.

95pts Wine Enthusiast

This rich and juicy wine is full of black fruits. The tannins are ripe and integrated into the black currant fruitiness. While the tannins currently pack a punch, they will integrate and allow the wine to age.

94pts Jeb Dunnuck

Based on 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2019 Château D'Armailhac showed beautifully from barrel two years ago, and it doesn’t disappoint now from bottle. Despite the high Merlot content, it has a firmer, focused, youthful style that's going to benefit from short-term cellaring. Giving up plenty of ripe black cherry, mulberries, and cassis-like fruit as well as textbook Pauillac lead pencil, forest floor, and tobacco, it's medium to full-bodied, has good mid-palate density, subtle background oak, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. It shows the vintage's more elegant, classic style yet doesn't lack for concentration or length. It's going to benefit from just 3-4 years of bottle age and drink fabulously well for two decades. It's the finest d’Armailhac I've tasted.

94pts Vinous

The 2019 d'Armailhac was the last vintage made in the old winery that has since been demolished to make way for a new gravity-fed facility that will be equipped with 50 smaller vats tailored to the parcels in the vineyard. It will provide greater space that will permit longer élevage if desired. It is fascinating to juxtapose again its Clerc Milon stablemate. There is more amplitude on the nose, it is more forthright with blackberry, wild hedgerow, tobacco and a subtle leather aroma. It comes across less high-toned than previous vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and slightly more mid-palate depth/grip than the Clerc Milon. The crescendo here is wonderful, fanning out towards the finish with subtle black pepper, sage and mint notes. This is a delicious d'Armailhac in the making. 

94pts Wine Spectator

Features a racy, chalky minerality that runs amid a core of steeped plum and black currant fruit, with lively cedar, black tea and savory nuance all around. Sneaky long too, thanks to its mineral thread. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

93pts Decanter

Thoroughly enjoyable Armailhac, with concentration immediately apparent on the nose, more so than in many vintages of this wine. There's a pleasing austerity to the tannins giving a confident but not overbearing structure with lovely juiciness on the finish. Of the three Pauillac estates in the Mouton stable, this has the youngest vines as an average age (although also some of the oldest vines in the whole of the Médoc, dating back to the 1890s) which sometimes holds it back from reaching full complexity of expression, but that is not something you'll be complaining about here. Instead you get a fresh core, silkily textured blackberry and cassis fruits with good balance. This is the last vintage made in the old facilities, as they are about to re-do the cellars.

93pts Wine Advocate

More classically proportioned than the exuberant 2018, the 2019 D'Armailhac wafts from the glass with aromas of violets, blackberries and cassis complemented by subtle hints of licorice, sweet soil tones and warm spices. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and perfumed, it's fleshy and enveloping, with an ample core of succulent fruit and beautifully polished, powdery tannins.

Winemaker Notes

The wine is a deep, garnet-hued red. The nose exudes intense black fruit aromas enhanced by notes of vanilla, pepper and mild spice. From a structured and sappy attack, the mid-palate reveals a creamy, satin-smooth body on the black fruit and chocolate flavors. Perfectly integrated, smooth and well-rounded tannins linger on a pleasant touch of fruit. Floral and licorice notes usher in a long and elegant finish.

Blend: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot

About the Winery

The estate, in the d'Armailhacq family since the 18th century and named Chateau Mouton d'Armailhacq after them, was acquired by Baron Philippe in 1933. Between 1956 and 1989, it was called successively Chateau Mouton Baron Phillipe then Chateau Mouton Baronne Phillipe. In 1989, Baroness Phillipine de Rothschild restored part of its original identity, renaming it Chateau d'Armailhac. The wine, aged in oak casks, combines finesse and elegance with powerful, well-structured tannins.