Château Clerc Milon Pauillac 2018 - Grand Cru Classé

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

Along with Armailhac, it is the other fifth classified growth of the Rothschild family (Mouton). Long in the shadow of its elder Mouton, lacking a little personality, it has since the 2000s regained its personality thanks to more rigorous and individualized management. A new, highly original, all-wooden winery, built to stringent environmental specifications, now enables this superb fifth-growth Pauillac to be vinified and matured in better conditions. The terroir is more clayey than that of the Mouton plateau, giving greater expressive richness to the Merlot grape variety, which is used here in greater proportion.

Decanter

About the wine:

This is an extremely successful Clerc Milon in a series of great vintages at the estate. Beautiful purity, big, clear tannins, real balance and tension. Persistent, succulent, full of cassis, licorice and crushed mint. Seriously impressive and will go a long way.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the domain :

Formerly owned by Lafite, this Cru Classé was acquired during the French Revolution by the Clerc family, who added the name of a hamlet in Pauillac to their own, and then by Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1970. Situated between Mouton and Lafite, in the northeastern part of the appellation, it boasts a 41-hectare vineyard planted on a choice terroir (essentially the Mousset hilltop overlooking the Gironde) and a new winery since 2011.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the domain :

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

2018, which we were able to taste, once again confirms its status as a very fine success for this vintage which, to the fleshiness of the fruit, adds beautiful tension and precision in the tannic structure. It will undoubtedly evolve well.

About the domain :

This château is part of the stable of Rothschild estates (Mouton). It's always fascinating to compare it with its brother Armailhac. Vinified by the same team, the latter is a classicist, with a significant proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in its blend, while the former relies on a higher proportion of Merlot. After a period of ups and downs, the cru is now back to its best, with better-defined concentration and velvetiness. The recent construction of a vat room and cellar has enabled us to go even further.

James Suckling

About the wine:

Blackcurrant, tobacco, graphite, cloves and dried leaves on the nose. Medium-bodied, with firm, tight tannins. Structured and compact, with a long, mineral finish. Tight and austere. Very nice structure here.

Yves Beck

About the wine:

Dense garnet red. The elegance and relevance of Pauillac come together in this bouquet! Notes of black berries and licorice followed by a touch of graphite. Lively, juicy character on the palate, where the wine not only has flesh, thanks to powerful, tightly-packed tannins, but also muscle, thanks to the tension of its acid structure. The tannins are distinguished by their ability to reveal themselves slowly along the palate. Alongside the power, the wine has an elegant profile, a beautiful notion of quiet strength. Finally, the aromatic expression is just as good as on the olfactory level, ideally supporting the fruity, persistent finish.

Vert de Vin

About the wine:

The nose is elegant, racy and offers a lovely finesse of grain, power (all in control), concentration as well as delicacy and subtlety. Notes of bursting blackberry, fleshy gariguette strawberry and, more lightly, bursting blackcurrant are combined with hints of cardamom, gravel/terroir, violet, ripe/pulpy black berries, as well as fine hints of tobacco, spices and a fine touch of cuben pepper. The palate is fruity, well-balanced, nicely delicate, all in mastery/delicacy and offers suavity, minerality, justly dosed concentration, fullness, freshness, good structure as well as a lovely delicate/unctuous touch and greediness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/sparkling blackberry, crushed blackcurrant and, more slightly, pulpy/juicy strawberry, combined with hints of crushed raspberry, pulpy violet plum and chocolate, as well as hints of cardamom, tobacco, subtle hints of bergamot, toasted hazelnut and discreet hints of toasted/caramelized oak. Precise, elegant tannins. A lovely, suave, gourmand persistence.

Anthocyanes - Yohan Castaing

About the wine:

Black fruit as al dente as ever, with hints of blueberry, blackcurrant and light smoke with a touch of graphite. Noble spices too. Always long-lasting, clean, crystalline structure, precise, suave tannins, almost sapid, with great finesse. One of the greatest of recent years. Superb. One of the vintage's greats.