Area under vines: 41 hectares
Soils: Gravel, clayey limestone
Average age of the vines: 52 years
Planting density: 10 000 vines/ha
Ageing: in 30% new oak barrels for 16 to 18 months
Grape varieties:
Second wine: Lacoste Borie
Learn more about Château Clerc Milon
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Tasted blind. Quite lean and refined. A thoroughbred? But a certain green streak runs through it. For purists.
Anticipated maturity: 2025-2035
The 2016 Clerc-Milon has a tightly knit bouquet of blackberry, raspberry and light floral scents, very similar to its sibling, d Armailhac. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannin. Initially it displays crisp acidity and feels quite fleshy, but it firms up and finishes persistent but linear and a little aloof. I personally find that appealing, and I suspect this Pauillac will blossom after several years in bottle.
Anticipated maturity: 2021-2036
The Cabernet Franc was fantastic this year, so it was all used in the grand vin. The final blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenere. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Clerc Milon leaps from the glass with beautiful scents of chocolate-covered cherries, plum preserves and crushed blackcurrants with suggestions of lilacs, cardamom, underbrush and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm frame of finely grained tannins and seamless freshness lifting the perfumed fruit to a nice long finish.
Anticipated maturity: 2021-2044
