I have always had a soft spot for this château, and actually have quite a bit of it spanning multiple years. Has always been a classically styled, elegant wine, at an affordable price point.
And this 2006 delivers.
Admittedly, it is more open than I had expected. Lovely notes of pencil, tobacco, forest floor, and perfumed fruits. Medium weight on the palate, with a nice mix of plummy and round dark fruits and more brambly and sweet-tart red fruits. Hints of ash and herbs, causing me to wonder how much Cabernet franc is in the cut. Seems rather pronounced, but that is the beauty of wine, it is always tricking you. The tannins are close to resolved, this wine has clearly entered its drinking window. I still see further improvement as this wine fleshes out and integrates even better. But for now, it is a very lovely wine.
I ‘checked in’ on one of my '14’s but it was clearly nowhere near ready, so the rest have gone to long term storage. Looks like 15-20 years is the mark.
For '14, that’s a pretty flush in spades for value just knowing the basic numbers and basic assumptions on cost. The Calon and Segla are stellar. Lots of discipline to leave them alone.
Great stuff - that sounds right up my street! Thanks for posting - I was curious about Armailhac in 2006, since I like the wine in general and I’m a fan of most other 06s. I’ve been looking out for some - so now I’ll look a little harder.
I have not tried anything more recently since the 2012 vintage, which I really liked a lot. If you look at the tasting notes from William Kelley and Jeff Leavy, it seems to me that this château has retained its classical profile through 2021. I would have no reservations buying new or vintages.
