🏰 The 1986 Château Mouton Baronne Philippe was the former name for Château d'Armailhac, which adopted its current title in 1989. The 1986 vintage in Bordeaux was particularly rewarding for Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Left Bank estates, favouring those who waited to harvest and resulting in structured, age-worthy wines. The growing season featured a cool, damp spring, followed by a hot, sunny, and dry summer, with mid-September rains that ultimately benefited the later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine displays a deep red colour with tile-like highlights. It offers a very fresh and lively bouquet, noted as more vital and precise than the 1986 Clerc-Milon. Aromas include lifted blackberry laced with tar and cedar, a creamy, velvety richness of fruit, as well as cedar, tobacco, leather, graphite, dried cassis, and earthy tones. On the palate, it is medium-bodied with firm tannins, drawing comparisons to the 1986 Mouton-Rothschild. It has resolved tannins and a smooth, well-integrated feel, with fruit that has faded into more subtle, dried notes, yet still maintains nice balance and a touch of spice. Some describe it as rustic but charming, with a moreish salinity, salt-streaked caramel, creamy raspberry fruit, higher acidity redcurrant and gooseberry, dusky, truffled, saffron, cassis, and wax notes. 🥂 This fine aged Pauillac is considered at its peak, a very stable wine not expected to decline soon. If you encounter a bottle at auction or on a restaurant list, it is highly recommended to acquire it. 🍴 It pairs well with NZ lamb filet and Uruguayan rump steak. Other suggestions include pintade flambée, agneau, boeuf, veau, bécasse flambée, and gigue de chevreuil grand veneur, especially with mushroom, cèpes, or truffle sauces. It also needs a good steak or roast. 【A younger sibling to 1986 Mouton-Rothschild, offering a very fresh and lively bouquet with firm tannins】