Chateau d'Armailhac

Newstime：2009-08-26 01:29:26 Befrom： Writer：

History

Chateau d'Armailhac has a complicated history, not least because proprietors seem to be persistently undecided as to what the property should be called. It was Dominique d'Armailhacq who created the estate, having purchased the vineyard from Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, the so called Prince des Vignes, sometime between 1718 and 1740. The Marquis de Ségur sold his Pauillac vineyards to three men; those to the north were sold to Joseph de Brane, and these were to be Brane-Mouton, today known as Mouton-Rothschild. Those to the south were acquired by François de Pontet, and today these are Pontet-Canet. Those inbetween came to Dominique, and these vineyards were to become the d'Armailhac that we know today. Following his acquisition, Dominique expanded the estate, and his acquisitions included the buildings at Chateau Brane-Mouton. Clearly not one to let a marketing opportunity pass by, Dominique duly renamed his estate Chateau Mouton-d'Armailhacq. Of the vineyards acquired, perhaps the most significant was the Carruades croupe, one of the better sites in the commune of Pauillac. Mouton d'Armailhacq was clearly an estate to be reckoned with, although records suggest that it still languished in the shadows of its more illustrious neighbours.Over the ensuing years the estate passed from one family member to the next - although often by some rather bizarre routes - contracting and expanding as it did so, as vineyards were either sold off or acquired. After Dominique the estate came to his successors, two brothers, one of whom was Odet d'Armailhacq. These two were not seemingly as astute as Dominique, and by 1843 they were forced to sell the estate as a result of financial difficulties consequent upon the imposition of tariff barriers affecting the export of the wines. Odet sold the estate, only for it to be purchased by his estranged wife, who held her own fortune, in 1844. Upon completion of the deal, she immediately sold the Carruades croupe in order to ease the financial burden, selling the vineyard to Chateau Lafite. The estate duly passed to her son, Armand d'Armailhacq, who was an instrumental figure in improving quality at Chateau d'Armailhac, and across Bordeaux as a region. His thoughts were put down in his book La Culture des Vignes dans le Médoc; he was a strong advocate for the use of Cabernet Sauvignon over other Bordeaux varieties such as Petit Verdot and Malbec, of better care in the vineyard and modern practices in the chai. His efforts were rewarded in 1855, when the property was ranked as a cinquième cru in the 1855 classification of the Médoc. The property continued to flourish, but with the advent of the 20th Century times were hard, as they were for all Bordeaux, and all France. After Armand's death the business was run by brother-in-law Comte Adrien de Ferrand.In 1931, the Comte de Ferrand decided to bring in outside investors, creating a company for the purpose. The young Baron Philippe de Rothschild became a minority shareholder of the company, the Societe Anonyme du Domaine de Mouton d’Armailhacq.

In 1933, his descendent Roger sold the estate, together with his recently created négociant business, to Baron Philippe de Rothschild.
Baron Philippe changed the name of d'Armailhacq to Mouton-Baron-Philippe, and the name of the négociant business to Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA; this latter acquisition allowed the development of new lines, including a generic Bordeaux which today is one of the most widely recognised Bordeaux brands in the world, Mouton Cadet, initially a route by which Baron Philippe sold off the wines of the unsuccessful 1930, 1931 and 1932 vintages. Under Philippe's direction the chateau - a strange affair, never fully completed and so looking like half a house - was renovated, and the vineyards replanted. With this latter action the area covered by vines actually fell, starting off at 75 hectares, but reaching a sorry low of just 32 hectares by 1960. The chai, long overdue for renovation, was finally renewed in 1968, with two storeys, the fruit of the harvest accepted onto the upper level before making its way towards the fermentation vats. By 1976 plantings were up again, with continued investment by the Rothschilds, but by now it was time for another name change; Philippe wanted Chateau Baronne-Pauline, out of respect for his deceased wife, but permission was not granted. Philippe settled for Mouton-Baronne-Philippe, nothing more than a change of gender. Although these changes were signs of great sentiment, the whole process only served to confuse. The subsequent decision by Philippe's daughter, Philippine, who now heads the family business, to revert to Chateau d'Armailhac (dropping the 'q' at the end) was a most sensible one.
Nowadays’ Owner : GFA Baronne Philippine de Rothschild
Manager: Philippe Dhalluin, Jean-Paul Polaert
Cellar master: Jean-Louis Lafourcade
Technique Information
Location: Chateau d’Armailhac is situated in the northern part of Pauillac. Adjoining Chateau Pontet-Canet to the west and south and Chateau Mouton Rothschild to the north and east.
Appellation: Pauillac
Neighboring Chateau: Chateau Mouton Rothschild(1st Growth of Pauillac in1855)
Chateau Pontet Canet(5th Growth of Pauillac in1855)
Acreage: 50 hectare (123 acres)
土壤：庄园有三块主要的葡萄地，包括Plateau des Levantines et de L'Obélisque-在卡许阿德斯台地扩种的26公顷葡萄地，以砂砾为主；占地19公顷的Plateau de Petit Pibran，土壤以石灰石质为底层土并夹杂以沙土和白垩土；还有5公顷的Le Croupe de Béhéré，土质从上层到某些地方三米以下全是轻质砂砾土。
Grape Varieties: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Average age of vines: 47 years
Cultivation Density: 3,500 vines per acre
Viticulture: Vine cultivation follows the purist traditional vinegrowing methods of the Médoc ; every vigneron is responsible for a particular parcel of land. After pruning, the vigneronnes tie the plants, then in Spring they lift the young shoots on the lattice which gives the vineyards a "well-growed" appearance. More importantly it enables the tractors to work the soil without damaging the grapes. This working of the soil is respected regularly in order to give air to the soil and to prevent the growth of weeds.
Winemaking: Fermentation temperatures are allowed to rise quite high, blending follows malolactic fermentation, and the wine spends 16 months en barrique, of which about 25% are new, the remainder being old Mouton barrels.
Yield: 40hl/ha
Brand: Chateau D’Armailhac(First Label)(A.O.C. Pauillac)
Annually production: 22000 cases
Character:
It is certainly less masculine than Clerc-Milon, perhaps because of the greater proportion of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, a blend which can allow the wine to excel in vintages when others may not.

Best Vintages: 1989, 2000, 2005
Awards: 5th Grand Cru Classe in 1855 Pauillac
Website: http://www.bpdr.com
Serving Suggestion
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75-85%, 15 ℃
Serving Temperature: 17-19 °C
Optimum drinking and ageing potential: 10-20 years
Food match:
Western Food: This wine will perfectly accompany tasty red meat dishes, and poultry cooked with sauce, but will also be enjoyable with abalone.

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Pre Château Pontet-Canet