Right next door to Mouton, Fifth Growth Armailhac has a little more sand in its soils, which means if it is a little less powerful than the majestic neighbour, it is also refined and finely textured – and usually ready to drink earlier. It tends to offer excellent Pauillac typicity, in a lighter style. Armailhac has been part of the Mouton stable since Baron Philippe de Rothschild bought it in 1933. Since then, it has gone through more than a few name changes. It has been variously known as Mouton d’Armailhacq, Mouton-Baron Philippe, Mouton Baronne, and Mouton-Baronne-Philippe, before the name settled on d’Armailhac in 1989. It is a fitting name, since the chateau owes its prominence to 19th-century owner Armand d’Armailhacq. It had been in his family since the 1600s, when forebears who had made money as riverboat captains then started picking up land in Pauillac. Armand was an engineer and a member of the Academy of Science. His pioneering treatise on winemaking contributed to the popularisation of Cabernet Sauvignon on the Medoc. The improvements he made at the estate led to it being classed as a Fifth Growth in the 1855 classification. The chateau building itself is also famousy half-complete, since funds ran out during the 1820 construction project - take a closer look at the photo above. In the modern era, investment has been pouring into Armailhac. State-of-the-art cellars arrived in 2021, gravity fed and allowing for parcel-by-parcel vinfication. The vineyards lie on sandy-gravels between Mouton and Pontet-Canet, and are planted to 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Vines average 50 years of age, but some Cabernet Franc vines stretch all the way back to 1890 (and are some of the very oldest vines in the Medoc). As these die, they are being replaced with Cabernet Sauvignon, a better natural fit for the vineyard. (NT 13/05/25)