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Armailhac 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon

This good value classed growth Pauillac was formerly known as Mouton Baronne Philippe and is made by the same wine-making team as Mouton Rothschild. The blend here in 2018 was 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château d'Armailhac

Label

Tasting Notes

Complex aromas of blackcurrant, black olive, clove, oyster shell, pencil lead and tobacco. It’s full-bodied with firm, tightly knit tannins. Concentrated and focused with a very long, spice and mineral finish. Fantastic bottle. Try from 2026.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2021

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 D’Armailhac (a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot) hits the ground running with wonderfully open-knit, flamboyant scents of Morello cherries, black raspberries, blackcurrant jelly and rose oil, leading to an undercurrent of cinnamon toast, aniseed and mossy tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate is charged with energy and expressiveness, delivering red and black berry layers with loads of spicy sparks, framed by plush tannins, finishing long and fragrant. 2022 - 2039.

93+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2021

This is clearly one of the most concentrated d’Armailhacs that has been produced in recent decades owing to the extremely small and concentrated berries, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested at the end of the growing season. It’s also one of the best, with clear personality and power, and although still the least complex of the three Pauillacs in the Mouton stable, it should offer the best value giving a ton of rich fruit and cigar box frisson. 5% Petit Verdot makes up the blend. 3.7pH. Tasted several times – always with the same impression.

Drinking Window 2026 - 2040

94
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

Tasted blind. Slightly muddy nose and simple cassis fruit. Some greenness. 14.5%
Drink 2026 – 2034

15.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2022

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot; 50% new oak. Barrel sample.
Black core. Scented with cassis and cassis leaf, lightly cedary. (This last is, unusually, a rare descriptor in this vintage.) Aromatic but not as much as Duhart-Milon tasted just after. Very tannic and chewy, dense, compact and telling you to stay away but not lacking fruit in the middle and the aroma is extremely inviting. Needs time to unfurl. (JH) 14%
Drink 2028-2038

16.5+
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

Medium-deep purple in the glass, with a mixture of sweet red and black fruits on the nose, layered with the toastiness of judicious new oak use. The palate is seductive, with polished and silky tannins gently framing the bright core of fruit. While ripe, there is good lift and vibrancy as the tannins build to give a crunchy, chalky finish that is savoury and long.

91+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, March 2019

Deeply colored, the 2018 Château D'Armailhac is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot brought up in 40% new barrels. Cassis, hints of blue fruits, graphite, charcoal, and spicy oak notes all emerge from this deeply colored effort. Rich and full-bodied on the palate, it offers ripe, present tannins, terrific freshness, and a great finish.

92/94
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019

(55 Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 Merlot, 10 Cabernet Franc, 5 Petit Verdot) | 14.5% alc Very commanding and robustly fruited, this is a dense, velvety d’Armailhac with structure and layers of plum and chocolate fruit. Not overly complex but certainly luxurious and imposing this is a style of wine which will appeal to all palates thanks to its generosity and depth of flavour. There is certainly enough grip to allow this wine to expand in time and while the finish is quite tart, this will inevitably fade quickly.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

A soft and generous red with plum, tobacco and currant character and a delicious, full body and brightness. Juicy. Attractive, earthy aftertaste. Layered and dense.

93/94
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (241), April 2019

The 2018 D'Armailhac (14.5% alcohol) is composed of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested September 12 to October 3. Deep garnet-purple colored, it reveals a very fruity nose of crushed blackberries, warm black cherries and mulberries plus hints of potpourri, spice cake and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, the decadent palate delivers loads of black berry layers and a firm, grainy frame with underlying freshness and an earthy finish. Wonderfully opulent D’Armailhac!

91/93
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.