Château D´Armailhac

The existence of Château d’Armailhac dates back to the late 17th century, as evidenced in a land register from 1680 which mentions the brothers Dominique and Guilhem Armailhacq, owners of parcels of land in Pauillac. Another land register from 1750 notes that their descendants have “planted with vines” the family estate, covering 15 to 16 hectares (37-39 acres).

By the end of the 18th century the estate has grown to 52 hectares (128 acres) but the brokers of the time describe its wine as “disappointingly thin”. Throughout the following century, Mouton d’Armailhacq’s owners work unceasingly to improve its quality, using techniques such as topping-up, running-off, barrel disinfection and fining. Their efforts are rewarded in 1831, when the wines of Mouton d’Armailhacq sell for twice as much as their more highly reputed neighbours. The ultimate recompense, Château Mouton d’Armailhacq is given Fifth Growth status in the 1855 Classification – the same one which made Château Mouton Rothschild “First of the Seconds”. The “first wine”, the only one authorised to bear the growth’s name, is distinguished from the “second wine”, less rich and sold for consumption in local taverns.

In 1931, the young Baron Philippe de Rothschild became a minority shareholder of the Société Anonyme du Domaine de Mouton d’Armailhacq, then in 1933 acquired all the shares from the Comte de Ferrand in return for a life annuity. A year later, on the Comte de Ferrand’s death, he became the effective owner of the estate. The Mouton d’Armailhacq portfolio included the Société Vinicole de Pauillac, forerunner of what is now Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA.

Inseparable from Château Mouton Rotschild, Château Mouton d’Armailhacq houses all the technical and agricultural equipment for the two estates in its extensive outbuildings. From 1956 to 1988, the wine was called Mouton Baron Philippe, then Mouton Baronne Philippe. A Fifth Growth of acknowledged quality, its original identity as Château d’Armailhac was patly restored in 1989.

The vineyard of Château d’Armailhac, an 1855 Classified Growth under the name Mouton d’Armailhacq, covers 70 hectares (172 acres) in the northern part of Pauillac. An extension of the Carruades de Mouton plateau, the Plateau des Levantines et de l’Obélisque, made up of light and very deep gravelly soil, is the preferred terroir of Cabernet grapes. The deep gravelly soil of the Plateau de Pibran rests on a clay-limestone base, giving the Château d’Armailhac wines their characteristic refinement and elegance. The light gravelly soil of the Croupe de Béhéré is up to three metres deep.

The vineyard is planted with traditional Médoc grape varieties (53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot) on rootstocks best suited to the soil (mostly Riparia-Gloire). The average age of the vineyard is 46 years, but nearly 20% of the total surface area dates back to 1890. Plantation density is high at 10,000 vines per hectare: Château d’Armailhac preserves the old methods of ensuring quality.

From planting the vines to bottling the wine, everything at Château d’Armailhac is a matter of experience, observation and patience. The vineyard is managed in the strict Médoc tradition, with each vinegrower being responsible for a particular parcel. Every year, they prune the same vinestocks under the supervision of a technical team. After pruning, the vinegrowers tie up the vine then, in spring, train the shoots on strung wires to give orderly rows. That way, tractors can work the soil without harming the grapes. Those tasks (earthing up, ploughing back and screefing) are carried out at regular intervals to aerate the soil and prevent weeds.

The key decision of when to start the harvest is prepared by the analytical and research laboratory, which also monitors Château Mouton Rothschild. The ripeness of the grapes is verified daily, parcel by parcel. The acidity, sugar content, colour and tannins are checked.
Picking is carried out entirely by hand. Each variety of grape from each parcel is taken to the vat room separately. The young vines are harvested before the older vines and vinified separately. The grapes are entirely destemmed so that only the fine tannins from the skins and pips are retained.

Vinification methods are adjusted to suit each vintage according to the characteristics of each vatting. The cellar-master, the winemakers and the laboratory staff monitor all the parameters (temperature, pumping-over, airing, length of time, run-off, etc.). Together, every day, they analyse and taste each vatting. The wines are matured in the traditional matter, 25% in new barrels. The other barrels come from the Grand Chai (Great Barrel Hall) at Château Mouton Rothschild. The wines are run off every three months until fining, which takes place during the second winter after the harvest. Fining is carried out with egg-whites in the traditional manner. The number of eggs (four to six per barrel) is determined each year after tests at the laboratory and in the barrel.

The bottling date may vary from one vintage to another: only the wine decides. The cellar-master and winemakers learn to meet the wine and talk with it in order to enhance all its qualities and show it at its best.

The house, a fine though incomplete white stone building in which the steward of the estates lived from 1947 to 1966, is not now used for residential purposes. Its vast outbuildings house the technical and agricultural equipment needed to farm the vineyards belonging to the two châteaux. Château d’Armailhac is surrounded by a stately park. The central avenue, lined with yew trees, leads to Château Mouton Rothschild.