Chateau D Armailhac 2006

Château d'Armailhac 5ème Grand Cru Classé Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, 2006 

Grapes: A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, 76 ha vineyard on deep gravel soils. Vines average about 40 years old, with some Cabernet Franc planted 60 years ago. Matured 18 months in French oak barrels. The estate was acquired by Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1933.

Producer Tasting Note:

Deep red in colour and fresh in style with a well-defined, solid structure. The nose mixes ripe red fruit with toasty vanilla from oak, while the palate shows good depth, silky tannins and a long, elegant finish — balanced and approachable now with further graceful development in bottle.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"The 2006 Château d'Armailhac has a feisty bouquet with tobacco and sage-infused red berry fruit that seem open for business, unlike some of the other 2006 Pauillac wines. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, quite supple tannin. There is good weight in the mouth with mint-infused blackberry fruit, fine structure with admirable precision on the finish. All it lacks is the persistence of some of its peers, yet it still constitutes a very fine Pauillac that I probably under-rated out of barrel."  Drink 2016-2030

90/100 points. Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, May 2016

"A clear evolution in construction, helped by the arrival of Petit Verdot into the blend. The tannic construction of a young Pauillac that has not fully relaxed into itself gives an edge of austerity, but is delivering all the mint leaf, graphite, and the salted cracker that gives great confidence in its future ageing direction, along with softely spoken blackberry and raspberry fruit. Classically balanced and concentrated, and we are begininng to reach into the modern era. Philippe Dhalluin director, as he had joined Mouton in 2004, with Jean-Paul Voelert technical director at both Armailhac and Clerc Milon. 30% new oak."

92/100 points, Jane Anson, INSIDE BORDEAUX, October 2022

"Medium-bodied, red currant, cedar, herb, leaf oriented wine with a slight rusticity to the tannins with a crisp edge to the red fruits and herbs in the finish along with a touch of dust in the classically-styled backend that is fully ready to go. Drink from 2023-2031."

90/100 points, Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider, January 2023

Food Match: Allow the wine to open in the glass or decant briefly (30–60 minutes) to reveal its aromatics. Serve at cellar-to-room temperature and pair with roasted lamb, grilled beef or mature, savory cheeses so the wine's ripe red fruit and silky tannins can complement richer flavours.

For collectors and drinkers alike, this bottle offers a structured yet approachable example of Château d'Armailhac