Château d'Armajan des Ormes
Being grand is not enough to justify standing alongside history’s great names. This could be Armajan’s motto. As one of the Sauternes appellation’s oldest and most historical domaines, this estate located in Preignac was ennobled by King Charles IXth in 1565, in appreciation for a visit granted with his mother Catherine de' Medici.
In those days, the vineyard already existed and Armajan belonged to Pierre Sauvage. His grandson, Jacques, continued to develop the family’s estates, thanks especially to the feudal tenure his was given over Yquem. After it was demolished during the Fronde civil wars in 1653, rebuilding of the Château as we know it today began in 1663 by the Guichaner family and building work was completed in 1750 by Vincent Guichaner, Lord of Armajan and son-in-law of Montesquieu.
By the end of the French Revolution, the Château had been split into several property plots. It will take over a century to rekindle the Château’s past glory and revert it back to winegrowing, thanks to the determination of the Fiton family, followed by Armand Gallice, a wine merchant who bottled his first batch of Château d’Armajan Sauternes in 1898. After his death in 1930, the domaine was progressively neglected until Louis Machy, a luxury leather broker bought Armajan in 1953 and undertook with his daughter Marguerite and son-in-law Michel Perromat, a massive restoration project that will last over 20 years.
It is Michel who will finalise the reconstruction of Armajan’s entire enclosed vineyard by taking over Château le Juge’s vines. Jacques and Guillaume Perromat, 6th generation of winegrowers, now run the family estate.
The terroir
Located in Preignac, Château d’Armajan des Ormes is at the very heart of the Sauternes appellation, which is bordered to the South by the vast Landes forest and to the North by the Garonne river valley. Clay, sand and gravel are superimposed in layers here. The quality of the soil is outstanding when it comes to producing Sauternes.
Our wines from Armajan des Ormes
