2000 Château d'Armailhac
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Tasting notes
The 2000 d’Armailhac offers brambly red berry fruit mixed with cedar and mint on a nose that is gentle but persuasive, nicely defined and open. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that frame the iron-tinged red fruit. This is not amazingly complex compared to recent vintages, but it is harmonious and displays the DNA of a Pauillac. It just fades a little toward the finish, and there is perhaps a touch of brettanomyces. Bottles are drinking perfectly now. Charming and ready to go.
Critic scores
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
A slight downgrade from my original score, this wine is quite evolved, displaying ripe plum, black currant, and chocolate notes as well as hints of cedar and espresso. Soft, round, and close to full maturity, overall it is a medium-bodied wine to drink now and over the next decade or more.
58% Cab Sauvignon and 42% Merlot . Pretty unevolved crimson in hue though the rim is starting to fade. Hint of buckwheat on the nose. A little jagged next to the completeness of the Tour Haut-Brion. Bloody and quite dry and solid on the finish. The tannins are more rustic than the Tour Haut-Brion. Relatively light. Good balance. (JR)
About the producer
Ch. d’Armailhac is a Pauillac Fifth Growth owned by the Rothschilds, who also own Ch. Mouton Rothschild. Lavished with the same attention to detail and having benefitted from extensive investment in recent years, this estate can offer brilliant value in comparison to its First Growth sibling.