Acquired by Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1933, this estate is anchored in the Pauillac region. For more than 90 years, the de Rothschild family has worked with the rigor, excellence and attention to its terroir. The 2021 vintage inaugurated the Château’s new technical facilities, a modern tool, designed for precise vinification, respecting the identities of each plot, and adapted to the vision of dynamic viticulture, which will leave an invaluable legacy for future generations.
The terroir is an inseparable triptych of the soil, a vintage and human intervention, which adapts its work according to these variables, in order to respect the qualities of the grapes. An understanding of the soils and the behavior of the vine, depending on the vintage, a personalization of the viticultural techniques, so that the plots can express their individualities in the wines – this is the “dynamic viticulture” of Armailhac.
The particularities of the Armailhac vineyard
Its 80ha north of Pauillac have atypical soils for the appellation – a little less than 50% of the vineyard has pure gravel and almost 30% is on heavy clays, from the different periods of the Tertiary. The deposits of the bedrock in the subsoils of Armailhac have evolved over the last 30 million years and have led to intra-plot variations in the terroir. Four hills with different types of soils make its richness:
- The Obélisque hill, deep gravel, with more than 50% coarse elements. These superficial soils, 30-40 cm deep, are on a clay-rich, compact and not very porous subsoil – a clay-sand matrix. Here, the roots of the vines are shallow, because the essential elements are not far away, so water constraints are very early.
- The Levantines hill, light gravel, with little clay, favoring deeper rooting of the vine. The soils are sandy over 1.50-2 m, less compact and more porous, with later water constraints.
- The Pibran hill, medium-deep gravel on tertiary clays, from 1-1.5 m, so water constraints appear at the end of summer. The grapes here are harvested later, concentrated and rich in polyphenols, and bring a powerful tannic structure to the blend.
- The Béhéré hill, two complementary terroirs: gravel on the top and clay on the slopes and bottom. The soils here are very acidic, poor in minerals, with low microbial activity. The behavior of these soils will depend on the vintage, so intervention and dynamic viticulture are very important here.
The Obélisque hill
The Levantines hill
The average age of the vines is 40 years, the oldest are 80 years old. The grape varieties are:
- Cabernet Sauvignon – 52% of the vineyard. It is mainly found on the Obélisque hill, the Pibran hill, on the upper part of the Béhéré hill, where it expresses its power and a lot of elegance. On the low clay soil of the Levantines it offers finesse.
- Merlot – 38%. It flourishes on the clay-rich soils of the Pibran hill and the lower part of the Béhéré hill, where it expresses a lot of freshness.
- Cabernet Franc – 8%. The Cabernet Franc from the Levantines hill comes from mass selections from vines over 60 years old and is very qualitative.
- Petit Verdot – 2% of the vineyard and is planted on the upper part of the Béhéré hill. It brings structure and a spicy touch to the blend.
Thanks to these complementary terroirs, each grape variety benefits from the best growing conditions and adapted vinifications, allowing them to reveal all their potential, as well as attenuating the climatic variations of the different vintages.
A rigorous mass selection for the renewal of the Armailhac vineyard allows us to preserve the heritage and genetic diversity of vines present here since always. This is what gives an “elegant classicism” – the common thread found in Armailhac wines through the years.
Terroir expressions of Cabernet Sauvignons
Terroir de l’Obélisque – terroir with powerful tannins. The vine synthesizes tannins very early, which become very ripe and very fine, due to early water constraints. This terroir produces a powerful and very elegant grape, which requires classic vinifications and produces powerful and elegant wines.
Terroir des Levantines – terroir with fine tannins. No early synthesis of tannins here, due to late water constraints. The grapes are less dense and less tannic, but of incredible finesse and elegance. Extractions during vinification will be more important to get the tannins and anthocyanins.
Terroir des Pibran – terroir with fresh and powerful tannins, synthesizes tannins at the beginning of the season, but they are not very fine, even a bit grainy. In these clayey soils, mineralization is slower, so the grape produced is tannic and fresh. Extraction will be less intense, so as not to have grainy tannins in the wine. The wines produced from these grapes have a lot of character and a beautiful freshness.
Terroir of Béhéré – terroir of the vintage (finesse and/or power). The vintage effect will be decisive on the characteristics of the grape and the level of extraction. The tannins can be dry in very hot vintages and rustic in a cooler vintage.
The distinction of Cabernet Sauvignon terroirs makes it possible to define their behavior according to vintages and soils, how they react to climate change. The first tests were done on the 2022 and 2023 vintages, and will continue on the following vintages in blending grape varieties and terroirs, with the adaptation of aging to reveal the best of each vintage.
The blend at Château d’Armailhac is the best of each terroir, according to a vintage, their complementarity. This allows for continuity, power and elegance in the wines.
Cabernet Franc: the second singularity of Château d’Armailhac
Cabernet Franc is also part of Armailhac’s DNA, very different from that of the Right Bank of Bordeaux, planted on clay. It brings finesse, elegance, a seductive side, floral notes in the Armailhac blend and represents its integral part. Cabernet Franc is not in a “terroir test”, but in a “container test” in order to respect and accentuate these characteristics. Tests on amphorae, barrels, 400-liter casks and tuns, as well as a late blend with the other grape varieties are underway to have this finesse of tannins and this floral side of Cabernet Franc in the Château’s wines.