The 2010 Château d'Armailhac is a powerful yet refined Bordeaux, characterized by a deep garnet color and vibrant aromas of baked raspberries, blueberry pie, and candied violets. The medium to full-bodied palate has lively energy with chewy tannins supporting delicate fruit flavors, finishing with a minerally edge. While approachable now, it has the structure to age well into the 2030s and beyond. The 2010 vintage, marked by ideal weather conditions, produced a wine with remarkable concentration and balance, making it a standout in recent Bordeaux vintages.

James Suckling | JS 93
Published: Feb 17, 2013

Polished and very fine with pretty fruit and berry structure. Full and silky with a delicious finish. it'sso good now to drink but has depth and structure. Drink or hold. 

The Wine Advocate | RP 92
Published: Mar 5, 2020
Drink: 2020-2042

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. 

Decanter | D 91
Published: Jan 30, 2020
Drink: 2020-2038

As the ten year moment clicks over, Armailhac is looking pretty ready to drink, still showing firm tannins and plenty of fruit, but it is more open than many Pauillacs in the vintage at this point, and doesn't seem to hold the same self-belief in its ageing ability. A dusty earth character that feels comfortingly old school, this sums up a lovely, balanced claret in its drinking window, sure to continue for another decade or more but it is not built powerfully, and struggles to deliver true appellation typicity.

Jancis Robinson | JR 17+
Published: Apr 2, 2020
Drink: 2019-2035

Tasted blind. Bricky garnet. Inviting and mature aromas – notes of undergrowth and senescent fruit as well as iron/blood. Opens out to some attractive cassis freshness. Refined, chalky texture. Elegant and long, juicy and a good future still. 

Chateau-darmailhac.com

Harvest: 28 September to 15 October
Varietal mix: Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 23%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Petit Verdot 2%

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 Chateau d'Armailhac of considerable refinement.

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.