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Chateau D'Armailhac

2010
Blend
15% Cabernet Franc
60% Cabernet Sauvignon
23% Merlot
2% Petit Verdot
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Pauillac
UPC
0 15643 42498 4
Red Wine
Verified Stock
1703-10
Product Ratings
James Suckling 93pt

Polished and very fine with pretty fruit and berry structure. Full and silky with a delicious finish. It's so good now to drink but has depth and structure.

by James Suckling, 2013
Wine Advocate 92pt

Tasted at the chateau, the 2010 D'Armailhac has a fabulous, opulent bouquet, with black cherries, boysenberry, almond and hints of cooked meat as it dabbles with secondary aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, with bold tannin, grippy in the mouth and immense weight. This is a very structured d'Armailhac, although it probably does not possess the finesse of the 2016, which I tasted alongside. There is great density here—tensile and bold, with a grippy finish. It is a long-term prospect.

by Wine Advocate, 2017
Wine Enthusiast 91pt

This is a wine that's full of blackberry flavor, with elegant fruitiness and sweet tannins. It may miss the firm structure of the vintage, but it makes up for that with its forward, ripe fruitiness.

by Wine Enthusiast, 2013
Wine Spectator 93pt

Dense, juicy and inviting, with bouncy briar, blackberry, steeped black currant and melted black licorice notes framed by roasted apple wood and graphite notes. The finish courses along with good definition. Energetic and tempting, but the gripping, iron-laden finish will benefit from cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2030.

by Wine Spectator, 2013
Wine Advocate 92pt

Deep garnet in color, the 2010 D'Armailhac leaps from the glass with vivacious scents of baked raspberries, blueberry pie and kirsch plus hints of candied violets and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has lovely energy with a lively backbone and well-played chewy tannins supporting the delicate flavors, finishing minerally.

by Wine Advocate, 2020

Climatic conditions

2010 was a dry but relatively cool year, with no summer heatwave.
A generally cold winter gave way to a dry and cool spring that ended with some rainfall in mid-June. Temperatures started rising on 21 June and the summer weather continued throughout a particularly sunny July.
The fine conditions of late July were followed by a cloudier, slightly cooler and very dry August. Summer weather returned on 21 August with high temperatures (reaching 38° C on the 25th and 26th) and cool nights, getting the ripening process off to a good start.
A welcome spell of rain between 6 and 8 September helped the grapes to mature. Acidity levels fell and phenolic maturation was slow but the crop remained in excellent condition.
The fine weather returned, still accompanied by cool nights, encouraging the quality and synthesis of anthocyans and flavour until the harvest.
After showers on 26 September, picking started on 28 September in very good conditions and ended on 13 October. Naturally concentrated, the grapes were small and their juice, rich and highly coloured, displayed good acidity.
These factors – dry conditions without drought, an exceptional amount of sunshine, cool nights and rainfall that arrived at just the right time – give the 2010 vintage a remarkable identity. A splendid sequel to 2009, it is sure to become an outstanding year in the long history of fine Bordeaux wine.

Tasting notes

The colour is dark and intense, almost black.
The nose opens on fruit aromas, especially black cherry, followed by toasted, roasted notes. The wine is immediately full and powerful on the attack, with well-rounded tannins and fruit flavours that develop notes of vanilla, roasted coffee and toasted nuts.
The long finish is sustained by slightly toasted, oaky flavours.
A powerful Château d’Armailhac of considerable refinement.