2023 d'Armailhac
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Tasting notes
Investment in this property has seen quality consistently rising in recent vintages – and 2023 is no different. With the high quality of the Cabernet Sauvignon this year, the blend includes more than normal – and the resulting wine speaks of that dominance, full of dark, intense cassis fruit and graphite. There’s clear depth here, while the palate offers contrasting freshness. It’s lithe and lively, revealing floral tones with time in the glass. Delicious. Aged in 50% new oak, 13.5% alcohol, 3.75pH. Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Including slightly more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, the 2023 Château D'Armailhac is based on 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, aging in 50% new oak. It's a ripe, medium to full-bodied, spicy, impressive Pauillac that has both red and black fruits, ripe, round, velvety tannins, the fresher, vibrant style of the vintage, and some classy tobacco and lead pencil aromatics. It's going to need at least 4-5 years of bottle age to come together, but it’s beautiful wine in the making. The alcohol is 13.5%, and it has a pH of 3.75.
Flowers, cedar, black raspberries, and currants fill the perfume. The palate is packed with dark cherries, spice, herbs, and currants. Soft, and inviting, with a spicy, minty edge to the fruit in the crisp finish, give it a few years of aging, and it will reward your patience. The wine blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. This is the highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon used in the blend in the history of the estate. 13.5% ABV, 3.75 pH. Harvesting took place on September 7-September 30.
There’s a powdery and open texture to this red. Full-bodied and layered with a pretty and weightless texture. Blackcurrants and blueberries and an orange-peel undertone. Velvety texture at the end. 70% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, 13% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot.
About the producer
Ch. d’Armailhac is a Pauillac Fifth Growth owned by the Rothschilds, who also own Ch. Mouton Rothschild. Lavished with the same attention to detail and having benefitted from extensive investment in recent years, this estate can offer brilliant value in comparison to its First Growth sibling.