A firm, dark ruby/purple-colored wine with notes of compost, black currants, espresso roast, and some soy, this medium to full-bodied, relatively powerful and concentrated wine shows elevated levels of tannin which have kept me from pulling the trigger and giving it a higher score. I thought everything seemed better balanced prior to bottling, so perhaps the wine is going through a somewhat angular phase of development. It s certainly a big, bold, rather aggressively tannic style of d’Armailhac. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2019.

Good ruby-red. Currant, chocolate and mocha on the nose, along with some cooler herbal notes. Juicy, minerally and bright, with a slightly weedy herbaceous character and firm acidity. Ultimately less floral and less dense than the promising 2004.

The 2002 d’Armailhac has quite an exuberant bouquet, maybe just a little bretty with just a hint of saddle leather permeating the black fruit. Quite youthful. The palate is medium-bodied with a hickory tinged opening, fine depth, fleshy with a liquorice infused finish. Not profound, a little loose, but kinda fun. Tasted at the château.