Château d'Armailhac, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2023
Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, the supremely talented Technical Director responsible for Baron Philippe de Rothschild's three Bordeaux chateaux has crafted an exquisite range of wines, which marry generous, textural fruit with gloriously precise aromatics and velvety tannins. Procured from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and incorporating 13% press wines, the 2023 d'Armailhac is the most sophisticated and attractive example we can recall tasting from this Pauillac estate. Precise and finely detailed with a lovely floral bouquet and clear, bright cherry notes - this is packed with generous, pixilated fruit. There's a fleshiness to the bright and lacy mid-palate, garlanded by fine, smooth tannins and full of salty detail. Excellent!
critic reviews
High Cabernet, as is the story of the vintage on the Left Bank. A wine that also continues the new story of Armailhac following serious investment in vineyards and cellar, and technical director Lucie Lauilhé. Bright and vivid from the first moment, layered cassis, crushed mint, liqourice root, crushed rocks, an excellently precise, structed and textured Armailhac. Love it. Harvest September 7 to 30. 80ha in production, 50% new oak barrels for ageing.
The 2023 d'Armailhac was picked from September 7 to 30 and aged in 50% new oak. It contains the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon to date. Its tightly wound bouquet demands encouragement from the glass, perhaps just missing the panache that elevated the previous vintage. You could argue that this seems more “serious.” The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and a firm backbone. It’s a little pepperier than previous vintages, closing with a streamlined finish. Give this two or three years in bottle.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 d'Armailhac sings of black raspberries, wild strawberries, and tilled soil with hints of dried herbs and wet slate. The medium-bodied palate is lively and elegantly styled, with plush tannins supporting delicate red and black fruit layers, culminating in a well-sustained finish. Very impressive! The blend is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon (the highest ever percentage for d'Armailhac), 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.75. The alcohol is 13.5%.
The 2023 d'Armailhac is an attractive effort, bursting with aromas of cherries, raspberries, licorice and cigar wrapper. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and succulent, with a pretty core of fruit, sweet powdery tannins and lively acids, it's a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdotwhich is a rather high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon for this address.