CHÂTEAU D'ARMAILHAC
2015 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac
Lovely balance of bright fruit and a subtle sweet/dry interplay of fruit and tannin. Spicy fruit in the finish. All a bit of a gourmandise. Rating: 90-91 L&S (Apr 2016)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2015 Armailhac has a vivacious, minty, finely delineated bouquet that has a spring in its step. The palate is medium-bodied, strict and focused, with sapid black fruit laced with graphite. This classy offering gains depth with a satisfying, long aftertaste. It was quite an impressive showing. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting at Farr Vintners. Drinking range: 2028 - 2052 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2025)
This has a lovely deep ruby colour, and plenty of sappy energy in its tannic frame and reach, a little softer than some Pauillac 2015s at this stage. Refined tannins, charming, with a layering of dark fruit and undergrowth that slowly steals up on you. Jean-Paul Voelert technical director. Harvest September 16 to October 5. 33% new oak - the last vintage before new oak rises to today's 50%. A signficant year in the Mouton stable, as Baroness Philippine died in August 2015. Drinking range: 2022 - 2040 Rating: 93 Jane Anson, Decanter (Nov 2022)
The 2015 d'Armailhac has a precise, graphite-scented bouquet featuring black fruit laced with light rose petal aromas - discreet but engaging. The medium-bodied palate offers quite firm tannin framing dusky, dark black fruit laced with brown spices and sage. I am just seeking a little more brightness and verve on the finish, but otherwise, this is fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jul 2019)
Berries and smoke with some wet-earth and leather undertones. Medium to full body, round and velvety tannins and a juicy and delicious finish. Like the walnut and coffee undertone. Drinking range: 2020 - Rating: 93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2018)
The assemblage is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. A very pure, bright, slightly dusty black cherry fruit on the nose, with a rather reserved presence. The palate is tense, medium-bodied, with a rather taut structure, and a little stretched midpalate flesh to fill it out. It feels very low-key and understated in style, with a cranberry tartness, and the fruit character is currently suppressed by some oaky lactones. Then, on the finish, a lovely flourish of confident fruit, which is otherwise hiding beneath that oak at present, and some tannic bite. This feels polished, quite supple, but with a very relaxed presence, and a relatively short finish. Rating: 15-16/20 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2016)
Rating: 90 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2016)
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Particularly bright crimson. Savoury, lively nose. Drier and lighter than most but racy and satisfying in the new style. Good freshness and breadth. Really very polished. Drinking range: 2024 - 2040 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2016)
Lovely florality, lifted fruit and silky tannins. This wine has got both broader and finer over the years and is now totally complete in the feminine d’Armailhac style. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 92 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2016)
The 2015 Château d'Armailhac is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, marking a slightly higher percentage of Merlot this year. Picking began on September 16 and finished October 5 - one of the longest harvest periods for this estate, according to Philippe Dhalluin. It has a very intense bouquet with layers of small dark cherries and cassis, the oak prominent, though the final blend will contain proportionally less. The palate is very concentrated and quite showy, as d'Armailhac has a proclivity of being at this early juncture. The acidity here is nicely judged with just a touch of graphite coming through on the finish. This is a satisfactory d'Armailhac, but there was a nagging feeling that this is one wine from the Mouton Rothschild stable that left me wanting more. Perhaps that will develop during its barrel maturation? Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
The 2015 d’Armailhac is especially strong this year. Racy and sumptuous to the core, the 2015 offers lovely depth and radiance throughout. Sweet red cherry, pomegranate, blood orange and spices are all pushed forward, while the creamy, generous textures are hugely inviting. The plush, racy personality of the vintage comes through loud and clear. The d’Armailhac is the hidden gem in the Mouton-Rothschild portfolio this year. This is superb effort from the Mouton team headed by Philippe Dhalluin. Rating: 90-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2016)
This has good density midpalate, with red currant and plum fruit. Keeps a slightly racy edge overall, with a lightly chalky frame giving way to iron through the finish. Rating: 88—91 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2016)
A refined and pretty red with plum, blackberry and black cherry aromas and flavors. Full to medium body, fine tannins. Exuberant. Rating: 92-93 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2016)
Château d'Armailhac
Château d’Armailhac, which has had more names than it has needed over the years (having been Château d’Armailhacq, Château Mouton-d’Armailhacq, Château Mouton-Baron-Philippe, Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe finally, Château d’Armailhac), was originally part of a larger Pauillac estate owned by the Marquis de Ségur. This was sold off in three lots, which became Château’s Pontet-Canet, d’Armailhac and Mouton-Rothschild. It came into common ownership with its famous neighbour to the north in 1933 when Baron Philippe de Rothschild bought the estate. There are 50ha under vine, which are planted to just under 60% Cabernet Sauvignon with roughly 20% each of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and a tiny amount of Petit Verdot. The wines spend around 16 months in barrique, about 30% new oak with rest being old barrels from Château Mouton Rothschild. The wines are, generally, softer than other wines from Pauillac or other wines in the Rothschild portfolio, but amongst the best value. The relatively high proportions of Merlot and Cabernet Franc make d’Armailhac a good bet in lesser vintages too.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.