Wine Advisor
D'Armailhac 2002
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Undeniably a sleeper of the vintage, Armailhac’s 2002, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, may be the finest wine this estate has ever produced. Yields were a low 39 hectoliters per hectare. This exciting Pauillac exhibits a saturated purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of roasted herbs, espresso, chocolate, creme de cassis, and Asian spices. Dense, medium to full-bodied, powerful, and concentrated, with high but sweet tannin, it appears set for two decades of thrilling drinking. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2022
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Out of barrel I found this a little charmless. After bottling at the UGC in October 2004. A very sweet black cherry nose with scents of iodine and Morello cherry. The palate has a svelte texture, certainly softened in the interim with moderate concentration. Blueberry, cranberry and tar. Quite linear on the finish but otherwise this is a fine sensuous Pauillac to consume over ten years. Tasted again in May 2005. A soft, supple nose that lacks a bit of character. The nose is very plush and toasty, overtly modern with a velvety sheen. No rough edges here. Fine despite lacking typicity or a sense of terroir.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Farr's 2002 Bordeaux tasting. Reticent on the nose: tar, iodine, underbrush at first, but it's leading you down the wrong path because some plush blueberry and damson fruits begin to emerge with aeration. Ripe, full-bodied palate that is plush in style but with good clarity and poise, a sense of purite that is very attractive, leading to a focused finish. Excellent. Tasted October 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A firm, dark ruby/purple-colored wine with notes of compost, black currants, espresso roast, and some soy, this medium to full-bodied, relatively powerful and concentrated wine shows elevated levels of tannin which have kept me from pulling the trigger and giving it a higher score. I thought everything seemed better balanced prior to bottling, so perhaps the wine is going through a somewhat angular phase of development. It s certainly a big, bold, rather aggressively tannic style of d’Armailhac. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2019.
About the Producer
The existence of Château d’Armailhac dates back to the late 17th century, as evidenced in a land register from 1680 which mentions the brothers Dominique and Guilhem Armailhacq, owners of parcels of land in Pauillac. Another land register from 1750 notes that their descendants have “planted with vines” the family estate, covering 15 to 16 hectares (37-39 acres). By the end of the 18th century the estate has grown to 52 hectares (128 acres) but the brokers of the time describe its wine as “disappointingly thin”. Throughout the following century, Mouton d’Armailhacq’s owners work unceasingly to improve its quality, using techniques such as topping-up, running-off, barrel disinfection and fining. Their efforts are rewarded in 1831, when the wines of Mouton d’Armailhacq sell for twice as much as their more highly reputed neighbours. The ultimate recompense, Château Mouton d’Armailhacq is given Fifth Growth status in the 1855 Classification – the same one which made Château Mouton Rothschild “First of the Seconds”. The “first wine”, the only one authorised to bear the growth’s name, is distinguished from the “second wine”, less rich and sold for consumption in local taverns. In 1931, the young Baron Philippe de Rothschild became a minority shareholder of the Société Anonyme du Domaine de Mouton d’Armailhacq, then in 1933 acquired all the shares from the Comte de Ferrand in return for a life annuity. A year later, on the Comte de Ferrand’s death, he became the effective owner of the estate. The Mouton d’Armailhacq portfolio included the Société Vinicole de Pauillac, forerunner of what is now Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA. Inseparable from Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Mouton d’Armailhacq houses all the technical and agricultural equipment for the two estates in its extensive outbuildings. From 1956 to 1988, the wine was called Mouton Baron Philippe, then Mouton Baronne Philippe. A Fifth Growth of acknowledged quality, its original identity as Château d’Armailhac was patly restored in 1989.
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