Chateau d'Armailhac 2017
-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Wong
Wilfred - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The wine is garnet red with a crimson tint. The generous and expansive nose opens on aromas of fresh, juicy, creamy fruit, then with airing reveals bilberry notes set off by intense touches of pepper, liquorice, and vanilla, giving the wine an enticing feel. The dense and full-bodied attack extends into the mid-palate, imparting an appealing impression of harmonious sweetness. Nascent oak emerges on smooth and well-structured tannins, accompanied by flavours reminiscent of the nose. The initial intensity of the fresh fruit flavors extends into the long and persistent finish.
Blend: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Dark in profile but very fresh, with a racy beam of black currant and black cherry fruit that bristles with energy, flanked by a well-honed graphite edge and backed by sweet tobacco and singed alder notes throughout. A crackling Pauillac that's built for the cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2038.
-
James Suckling
Lots of chocolate and berry aromas with currants. Full-bodied, round and juicy with hints of blueberries and white pepper. Long and flavorful. Firm. A blend of 68% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot. Needs another two or three years to soften. Better after 2022.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2017 Chateau D'Armailhac, which is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot brought up 16 months in 40% new French oak. It has good ripeness and depth, medium to full body, and terrific notes of cassis, toasted spice, lead pencil, and violets. This classic, ripe, sexy 2017 that has a good spine of acidity and a great finish, all making for a brilliant Pauillac that’s going to benefit from just short term cellaring and keep for 15-20 years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 D'Armailhac comes bounding out of the glass with bold notions of baked plums, redcurrant jelly and crème de cassis plus wafts of violets, dark chocolate and fragrant earth. Medium-bodied, the palate bursts with energetic red and black fruits, framed by ripe, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and vibrant. Rating: 92+
-
Wine Enthusiast
This ripe, juicy wine offers good acidity and plenty of blackberry flavors. It reflects the freshness of the vintage, giving a lift to both the tannins and the rich fruitiness. The wine finishes with a touch of chocolate and freshness. Drink the wine from 2023.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Château d'Armailhac delivers an excellent claret experience. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of bold yet well-constructed black fruit and oaky notes. Enjoy this with a nicely-grilled entrecôte top with diced shallots. (Tasted: January 24, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
-
Decanter
Pure yet plushly-textured blueberry and damson fruits, get a little dip through the mid palate, but recovers with plenty of redcurrant and raspberry notes, backed up by cedar and spice, all carefully extracted and constructed. Perky, it grows on me, not huge persistency but lots to enjoy. 35% new oak.
Other Vintages
2022-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Wong
Wilfred - Decanter
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Vinous
- Decanter
-
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James - Decanter
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Wong
Wilfred
-
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert
-
Suckling
James
-
Spectator
Wine
An 1855 Classified Growth, Château d’Armailhac is bordered to the north by Château Mouton Rothschild. It has 76 hectares (187 acres) of south-facing vines with an average age of 40 years, stretching over three gravel banks that embrace all the typical features of the Pauillac appellation.
The terroir, mostly comprising deep gravel, clay or clay-limestone and gravelly sand, is planted with classic Médoc grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (35%), Cabernet Franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%).
The Cabernet Franc vines, which have an average age of 60 years, are mostly planted on the Plateau des Levantines, an ideal terroir in which they can put down deep roots. Derived from ancestral massal selections, these remarkable Cabernet Francs make up a relatively high proportion of the blend and are a hallmark of the wine.
Château d’Armailhac takes its name from the d’Armailhacq family who purchased the estate in 1660. Its history is bound up with that of pioneers of modern winegrowing such as Armand d’Armailhac.
The estate was acquired by Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) in 1933, then inherited by his daughter Philippine de Rothschild (1933-2014). It now belongs to her three children, Camille and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, who, with passion and the same attachment to the terroir, continue the family’s quest for excellence and innovation in the vineyard and winery.
Château d’Armailhac is a fine wine, typical of the Pauillac appellation, with an elegant classicism regardless of the vintage, and a robust and refined tannic structure.