Château d'Armailhac 2023

Gorgeous nose with clearly defined fruit and floral notes. On the palate, straight, crisp, fresh, slender in style, elegant, long, with a red-fruited finish.

Gorgeous fragrance, so floral and alive on the nose, minty and herbal as well as full of violet and cherry elements. Smells quite intense but fresh too. Bright and in focus, streamlined with a racy core—bright acidity and fine tannins, very harmonious if still strict and focused. It’s full and balanced in its own way with good structure and persistence from start to finish. Sleek, tangy, taut; I like the soft power, the slightly grippy tannins and the freshness throughout. Leaves a bitter grapefruit–orange peel tang on the finish. Highest percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. 62 IPT. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

The 2023 d'Armailhac is a delight. Plump, juicy and explosive, the 2023 is super expressive right out of the gate. A burst of dark red/purplish fruit, cinnamon, rose petal and pomegranate are all dialed up. The change in d'Armailhac's tannin profile over the last few years has been remarkable. Floral overtones lift the attractive finish.

The aromatic profile opens with cassis, black cherries, and cigar box note, which is the perfect introduction to the wine. 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, vibrant 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. Drink from 2028-2050.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, brightening on the rim. Delicate notes of cranberries and cherries, fine herbal savouriness, tobacco nuances. Medium complexity, red-berried fruit, fine tannins, good freshness, mineral and accessible, a versatile food wine.

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 13.5% ABV. Delicate, floral-blueberry bouquet, noble cassis spice, iris fragrance. On the complex palate with a silky texture, a tight-knit tannic framework and structured profile. In the focused, long finish, wild cherry, dark graphite and a majestic astringency. A feminine Armailhac, thanks to the perfect tannin structure. The tension is created by the Cabernet Franc, which always lengthens the wine, says Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy with a confident grin.

Luscious, balanced, precise, textured cassis and damson fruits, cocoa bean, crushed rocks, slow unroll, lift and grip. Harvest September 7 to 30. 80ha in production, 50% new oak barrels for ageing. One point upscore, and for me, this is a better wine than in 2022. Technical director Lucie Lauilhé.

Score: 91–93. The nose conveys a sense of ease with notes of dark fruits and a hint of spice and charcoal. On the palate, the wine is bright and shimmering, with pure, juicy dark fruit, great precision, and a long, saline finish.

So much fruit, definition and freshness in the bouquet of Armailhac 2023. Notes of ripe dark berries mingle with floral freshness and hints of raspberry. The subtly smooth attack leads into a silky, full-bodied, linear wine that is perfectly balanced. The tannins, remarkably precise, deliver a serene power and can rely on their precious ally: the acidic structure. A vibrant, elegant, thrilling and persistent wine.

A terroir study in 2023 identified certain plots harvested and vinified separately: here, 70% Cabernet (a record), 13% old Franc, and 15% Merlot, keeping only those with lovely freshness. The nose is of great class—already velvety and deep—with very ripe, powerful, spicy Cabernets. The attack is broad, dense, and balanced. The palate surprises with its airy feel; everything is in place, with fine, abundant, clean tannins and a mineral, silky, elongated mid-palate.

93-95. Barrel Sample. This estate under the tutelage of the Baron Philippe de Rothschild family gets better and better. This vintage, with a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon has dense juicy acidity that shows great ripeness as well as fine succulence. The wine should age well.

Logo on the cork: Ouch Deep, intense, purplish colour. Very aromatic nose, with fresh, ripe fruit. Hints of raspberry and liquorice. Fleshy and precise on the attack, with a velvety body bursting with fruit, the wine glides across the palate, melting into a lingering finish. Beautiful length, truly fragrant.

Aromas of sweet blackberries, raspberries, cedar and spices introduce the 2023 d'Armailhac, a medium- to full-bodied, fleshy and supple wine with an enveloping core of fruit, sweet structuring tannins and a gently oak-inflected finish. It's a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot—which, as readers may remember, is a rather high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon for this address.