In Pauillac, one of the most prestigious appellations in the Médoc, on Bordeaux's Left Bank, Château d’Armailhac has earned a reputation for exceptional Cabernet-dominant blends that balance classic structure with wide appeal. This clean-cut yet rich 2009 exemplifies the estate’s style, offering tones of black fruit and baker’s dark chocolate finessed by cedar and graphite.

Owned by the Baron Philippe de Rothschild family since 1933, the property’s 200 acres of vines stretch over multiple gravel-clay banks adjacent to Château Mouton Rothschild. Predominantly south-facing, these plots offer just enough diversity between them to perfectly complement the quartet of grape varieties grown by the estate.

The 2009 showcases all four of them in varying proportions (60% Cab Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 14% Cab Franc and 2% Petit Verdot), resulting in a textbook, medium- to full-bodied Pauillac with gravity and elegance. Or, as one reviewer for The Wine Cellar Insider concisely summarized, it’s “refined, soft, lush, and inviting on the palate, with creamy tannins that come in on the back end of the currant-filled finish.”

Extremely limited. First come, first served.

Critical Acclaim:
93 points, James Suckling
93 points, Wine Enthusiast
92 points, Wine Spectator
91 points, Robert Parker
90 points, The Wine Advocate