Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac 2010

Château Duhart-Milon is a neighbouring property of Château Lafite Rothschild and was acquired by Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite in 1962. Oral tradition presents “Sieur Duhart” as a privateer of Louis XV who settled in Pauillac in his retirement and whose house on the port of Pauillac inspired the label of Duhart-Milon wines. The 1855 classification elevated Château Duhart-Milon to the rank of the only 4th Grand Cru Classé in the commune of Pauillac.

Located in the north of the Pauillac appellation, the vineyard of Château Duhart-Milon is set against an area of over 100 hectares of marshes, meadows, and woods. It has quite an unusual location in the Médoc. It covers 76 hectares, almost in one block on the western side of Château Lafite Rothschild, on the Milon hillside which extends the plateau of Carruades de Lafite. Its sandy gravel soils, deposited in the Quaternary period, contain variable levels of pebbles, sand, and clay. The largest terroirs of Duhart-Milon have mostly gravel soil with 10%+ of clay content. The grape varieties are divided between Cabernet Sauvignon (67%) and Merlot (33%).

Château Duhart-Milon is made according to traditional Bordeaux methods. The grapes are carefully sorted and placed in concrete or stainless-steel vats depending on their provenance for alcoholic fermentation. Gentle pumping over is carried out during fermentation to optimize extraction. Total maceration time is about 20 days before racking. Once the wines have undergone malolactic fermentation, they are transferred to French oak barrels made by the Tonnellerie des Domaines in Pauillac. Each barrel is tasted individually in December in order to determine which ones will be selected for the grand vin. Following this rigorous selection, the wine is blended and transferred to oak barrels (50% new).

"Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of back currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30+ years. This blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot is fabulous, a dead ringer for Lafite in a great vintage. (It is probably better than many of the Lafites of the 1960s and 1970s, and even some of the vintages in the 1980s.)" - 96 Points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Gravel over limestone, similar to Château Lafite Rothschild and under the same ownership. Cooler northern exposure of the terroir requires more time to ripen, but that was no problem in 2010. This has ripe fruit with graphite and wet stone. It may not be as dense as Clerc Milon, but the expression of finesse and refinement is unmistakable. Long, subtle finish. Pleasing, high-toned fruit perfectly matches grilled lamb chops with roast potatoes." - 95 Points, Decanter

Producer: Château Duhart-Milon

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Appellation: Pauillac

Vintage: 2010

Size: 750ml