Château d'Armailhac 2016

Climatic conditions

From a climatological point of view, the year 2016 as we experienced it at Pauillac can be split into two periods:

- firstly, an extremely wet winter and spring: the first four months of the year had already received more than half the annual precipitation, with a notable record of 240 mm in January ;
- secondly, an extremely Secs summer and autumn, with no significant rainfall, leading to a water deficit at the end of the year.

As a result of this summer drought, although grape berries were plentiful, they remained small in size, bringing density and concentrated flavors.

The fine temperatures of August and September enabled the grapes to reach a slow but excellent level of ripeness, so that harvesting began on September 27 with the Merlot and continued under perfect conditions until October 14.

In terms of fermentation, each plot and grape variety was, as usual, vinified separately, to express their most outstanding characteristics.

The wines now blended show remarkable color, intense fruit and spice aromas, and a dense texture of rich, coated tannins.

with its density and fleshiness, 2016 can be compared to the greatest vintages of the 21st century.

Tasting notes

Deep, dark color with purplish highlights. Aromatically, the nose is intense and complex, with perfectly ripe fruit.

On aeration, greedy notes of roasting follow, combined with blackberry aromas.

The attack is dense and fleshy. The mid-palate reveals elegant, well-coated tannins, hinting at licorice flavors, nuanced by fine, elegant oak.

The long, flavorful finish lingers on aromas of red fruit and chocolate.