Château Clerc Milon

An 1855 Fifth Growth in Pauillac, Château d'Armailhac combines diverse gravel terroirs, Cabernet-led structure and a distinctive Cabernet Franc signature with elegant classicism.

Château d'Armailhac

Château d'Armailhac is an 1855 Fifth Growth estate in Pauillac, on Bordeaux's Left Bank. Its vineyards extend across more than 80 hectares on four distinct gravel banks, immediately adjoining Château Mouton Rothschild to the north.

Owned by the descendants of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, the estate combines deep historical roots with a modern approach to vineyard management and winemaking. Château d'Armailhac describes its identity through an elegant classicism: distinctly Pauillac in structure and Cabernet character, but with refinement and accessibility alongside its capacity to age.

Quick Facts

Producer: Château d'Armailhac
Location: Pauillac, Bordeaux, France
Appellation: Pauillac AOC
Classification: Fifth Growth, 1855 Classification
Vineyard: More than 80 hectares
Owner: Descendants of Baron Philippe de Rothschild

History and Identity

The history of Château d'Armailhac reaches back to the 14th century, when its land formed part of the extensive Seigneurie de Mouton. In 1660, the property became an independent estate under the d'Armailhacq family, from whom it takes its name.

Under Armand d'Armailhacq, the estate developed significantly, and in 1855, then known as Château Mouton-d'Armailhacq, it was included in the Classification of the Médoc as a Fifth Growth.

A decisive change came in 1933, when Baron Philippe de Rothschild acquired the estate. Its name subsequently changed to Château Mouton Baron Philippe in 1934 and Château Mouton Baronne Philippe in 1975.

In 1989, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild restored the historic name Château d'Armailhac. The label adopted a reproduction of a spun-glass figure held in the Museum of Wine in Art at Château Mouton Rothschild.

The estate remains part of the Rothschild family's Pauillac holdings alongside Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Clerc Milon.

Estate, Vineyards and Terroir

Château d'Armailhac's vineyard covers more than 80 hectares, with south-facing vines distributed across four gravel banks representing different soil profiles within Pauillac. The vines have an average age of approximately 40 years.

The estate identifies four principal terroirs:

Obélisque features deep gravel within a clay-sand matrix and is particularly suited to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Levantines consists of light, deep washed gravel with limited clay and is principally associated with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Pibran combines moderately deep gravel with clay and includes Cabernet Sauvignon together with some of the estate's oldest Merlot vines.

Béhéré combines gravel and clay and is principally planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

This diversity allows parcels with different soil structures and grape varieties to contribute complementary characteristics to the finished wine.

Vineyard Plantings

The estate's current vineyard plantings are:

52% Cabernet Sauvignon
38% Merlot
8% Cabernet Franc
2% Petit Verdot

These percentages describe vineyard plantings, not the blend of Château d'Armailhac. The final blend is determined separately for each vintage.

Cabernet Franc is particularly important to the estate's identity. Its share of the vineyard is relatively significant for a Médoc classified growth, while the Cabernet Franc vines average around 60 years of age.

Viticulture

Château d'Armailhac manages its vineyards on a parcel-by-parcel basis, adapting work to the characteristics of individual soils, vines and growing conditions.

Cover crops and composted manure help maintain organic matter and biological activity in the soils, while vineyard practices are adjusted according to water availability, vine development and the requirements of each parcel.

Pruning is designed to respect sap flow and support vine longevity. During harvest, individual parcels are monitored and tasted regularly so that picking decisions can reflect the maturity of each terroir rather than a single estate-wide schedule.

The objective is to preserve the individuality of Château d'Armailhac's different gravel terroirs while achieving balanced and healthy fruit.

Production and Winemaking

The grapes are harvested by hand before undergoing careful sorting, destemming and optical selection.

Selected berries are transferred into the fermentation vats by gravity, helping minimise unnecessary mechanical handling.

A large number of vats in different sizes allows individual vineyard parcels to be vinified separately. Extraction is adapted to each lot, with pumping-over, aeration, maceration and vatting duration determined through regular tasting.

The final blend is normally assembled in November, after which the wine is transferred to barrels.

Château d'Armailhac is typically matured for approximately 18 months in barrel. During élevage, the barrels are regularly racked, with traditional egg-white fining carried out before bottling.

The precise blend, alcohol, harvest dates and other vintage-dependent technical information should be stored on Sipfind's individual vintage pages, rather than being fixed at producer level.

Style and Identity

Château d'Armailhac combines the structural character associated with Pauillac with an emphasis on refinement and accessibility.

Cabernet Sauvignon generally provides the framework and depth of the wine, while Merlot contributes flesh and fruit. The estate's relatively important holdings of old Cabernet Franc add another dimension to its identity.

The resulting style is Cabernet-led and recognisably Pauillac, combining structured tannins, freshness and fruit with the graphite character traditionally associated with the appellation.

For SCI, the producer's stylistic DNA should be:

Pauillac structure → Cabernet character → power → refinement → freshness → elegant classicism.

The estate seeks a wine capable of developing over time while retaining an expressive and approachable character in its youth.