Chateau d’Armailhac was previously part of a massive vineyard that we know today as Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The name of the estate came from one of the first owners of the estate, Dominique d’Armailhacq.
It was purchased in the late 1600s by the d’ Armailhacq brothers, who were river boat captains.
The d’Armailhacq family owned the estate until 1843 when they wereforced to sell a portion of their property to Lafite because of long standing debt issues. They didn't have enough money to complete their chateau and even now, only half the chateau is completed. The d’Armailhacq family sold the estate to the Ferrand family in 1878 who in turn sold it to Baron Rothschild in 1934. As part of the deal, Count Ferrand was allowed to remain in residence at Chateau d’Armailhac for the remainder of his life, rent-free.
When the Medoc property was purchased by the Baron in 1934, it was known as Chateau Mouton d’Armailhacq. The Baron changed the name to Chateau d’Armailhac. The property has gone through numerous name changes over the years including: Chateau Mouton-Baron Philippe, (1956-1973), Mouton Baronne (1974-1978), and even Chateau Mouton-Baronne-Philippe from 1979 until 1988. In 1989, the winery's name was changed to Chateau d’Armailhac.
In 2006, Philippine de Rothschild purchased 24 hectares of vines belonging to Chateau Colombier Monpelou. Part of the purchase agreement was that Mouton Rothschild would continue making the wine under the name of Chateau Colombier Monpelou until 2015. In 2021, they completed construction on their new, state-of-the-art cellars, just in time for the 2021 vintage.
The winery is 70-hectare vineyard is planted with 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Chateau d’Armailhac has some of the oldest vines in the Medoc with close to 20% of their entire vineyard being more than 130 years of age
Chateau d’Armailhac is aged in 30% new, French oak barrels for an average of 16 months. The production of Chateau d’Armailhac is on average close to 18,000 cases per year. The original porcelain artwork used for the logo resides in the museum at Chateau Mouton Rothschild.
For my information about the winery, please visit their website at www.chateau-darmailhac.com/