chateau d'armailhac 2020

"the origins of château d'armailhac date back to 1750. the vineyard was then called ""mouton d'armailhacq"". fifth classified growth in 1855, château d'armailhac thus radiates over the lands of pauillac. in 1931, the young baron philippe de rothschild became a minority shareholder in the mouton d'armailhacq estate. subsequently, the château became the entire property of the baron philippe de rothschild company. in 1989, baroness philippine de rothschild decided to give the château back its original name: château d'armailhac. the château d'armailhac vineyard covers 73 hectares of vines in the north of the pauillac appellation. the vines are 46 years old on average and are planted on a terroir of light and deep gravel. a winter and a very mild start to spring favoured an early budding of the vines. the passage of a snow front at the end of march did not affect the vineyards. the spring was marked by above normal temperatures, punctuated by abundant rainfall, particularly at the beginning of may. from mid-may onwards, hot and dry anticyclonic conditions accelerated the vegetative cycle considerably, with flowering 12 days ahead of its usual cycle. while june was a month of contrasts, july was marked by heat waves and a strong drought. the few rainy episodes in august activated the veraison and a uniform development of the berries. historically early, the 2020 harvest allowed the grapes to be harvested at full maturity and in perfect health. despite lower yields than in recent vintages, the quality is exceptional with fresh, balanced and dense wines, revealing powerful tannins and a beautiful finesse."