Château d'Armailhac 2021

Critic scores

• James Suckling94
• Decanter94
• Wine Advocate92
• Jeb Dunnuck91
• Vinous90

The 2021 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 86/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: Frost, mildew, then a cool summer brought back Bordeaux of old: taut, vibrant wines, shorter but elegant.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

The wine is a glittering ruby red. The refined and elegant nose displays redcurrant and raspberry aromas combined with brioche and violet notes. On the attack, juicy, succulent fruit emerges from beneath rounded, well-integrated tannins. The palate, nicely balanced by a fresh, mineral structure, reveals delicate chocolatey flavours enfolded in a smooth, silky texture. The harmonious finish lingers on crisp, slightly sappy fruit.

Blend of the 2021 vintage

Terroir

Château d'Armailhac lies in the northern part of the commune of Pauillac. It has 69 hectares of vines. Château d'Armailhac is made up of three groups of parcels: the Levantines and Obélisque plateau (26 hectares), an extension of the celebrated Carruades plateau of Mouton, made up of light and very deep gravel, the terroir of choice for the Cabernets; the Pibran plateau (19 hectares), whose gravel rests on a partly clay-limestone subsoil, hence the finesse and elegance characteristic of the wines of Château d'Armailhac; and the Béhéré gravel rise (5 hectares), of light gravel which can nonetheless run down to 3 metres deep.