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Clerc Milon 2019

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

Like Armailhac, this Pauillac is made by the Mouton Rothschild team. Always a serious wine, it has been much improved in recent vintages.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Clerc Milon

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2019 Clerc Milon is a real success. At more than 70%, this blend contains one of the highest proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon in the property's recent history, and the result is a wine of real nobility. Offering up aromas of violets, wild berries, licorice, loamy soil and cigar wrapper, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with notable depth at the core, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. From clay-limestone soils rather than the sandy gravels that characterize d'Armailhac, this is by some margin the more structured and serious of Mouton-Rothschild's two Pauillac stablemates. Drink Date 2029 - 2055

95
William Kelley, RobertParker.com (April 2022), April 2022

Aromas of crushed stone, blackcurrants and blackberries. Full-bodied with extremely well-crafted tannins that are chewy and layered, yet polished and fantastic. Love the finish. 72% cabernet sauvignon, 25% petit verdot, 22% merlot and 4% cabernet franc. Drink after 2026.

96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, January 2022

The 2019 Clerc Milon is composed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of swirling to reveal notes of black cherries and mulberries over a core of cassis, cedar, and crushed rocks plus a waft of truffles. The medium-bodied palate has a sturdy structure, with grainy tannins and lively acidity supporting the cedar-laced black fruits, leading to a minerally finish.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2023

Beautifully judged extraction of fruit, and a tender quality to the tannins. A touch of gunsmoke on the finish, with a tightrope walk of acidity and concentrated blackcurrant and black cherry fruit. This is confident, precise, not overly generous, but gives the most lovely Pauillac kick. 65% new oak. The last full vintage of Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy at Clerc Milon before he headed over to Mouton Rothschild (with the 2020 working across both Clerc Milon and Mouton). Harvest September 19 to October 9.

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, January 2022

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
Black core with black-cherry rim. Charry, smoky nose entangled with pure cassis fruit. Fragrant and elegant. Dry and elegant in tannin texture too, even if it is all rather withheld at the moment. Firm, savoury, so dark, with a rocky mineral finish. (JH) 13.5%
Drink 2030 – 2045

17
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, December 2021

Deep ruby in colour, with a pure cassis note layered with sweet and savoury spices - there is a restrained, mineral quality to the fruit this year. The palate has a vibrant balance with fresh acidity but fleshy, ripe black fruit at the core. The fruit is creamy and broad, but there is good restraint and chalky tannins that leave a savoury, moreish impression. Long, deep and smoky on the finish. Tasted at Waddesdon Manor.

91/94
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, May 2020

Another beautiful effort from this team, the 2019 Château Clerc Milon is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, from vines just across the street from Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild. Brought up in a mix of new and used barrels, it has a healthy ruby/plum color to go with a great nose of ripe red and black fruits supported by some classic Pauillac lead pencil, tobacco, and spice box notes. I love its overall balance, it's medium-bodied, has silky tannins, and the fresher, elegant style of the vintage. I wouldn't call it mid-weight, but I compared this to the 2014 on release, and I still think that comparison holds, although there's a touch more length and intensity in the 2019. This will drink well today with a decant (I followed this bottle for two days) and will shine for a good two decades.

93
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, April 2022

72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Barrel sample.
Dense, reserved, even broody. Broader across the palate but with real length and drive. Good fruit weight. Firm but very fine tannins. Chalky freshness through and through. Almost but not quite on the right bank. (JL)
Drink 2027 – 2040

17+
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com, June 2020
Read more tasting notes...

The 2019 Clerc Milon is made from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it bursts with black cherry pie, wild blueberries, and cassis with hints of cinnamon stick, cracked pepper, and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, it is very elegant and fresh with firm, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness supporting the tightly wound fruit, finishing long and perfumed.

95
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022

A very tight, precise red with super fine tannins that are tight and focused. Medium-to full-bodied with linear tannins and a bright, vivid finish. It’s leaner and refined. Precise and driven. This is a very cabernet sauvignon-driven Clerc with 76% cabernet sauvignon.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2019

The blend this year is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, harvested from the 19th of September to the 9th of October. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Clerc Milon starts out a little closed and broody, offering notes of tar, chargrill, tapenade and Marmite toast over an emerging core of stewed plums, black cherries and kirsch with a touch of garrigue. The medium-bodied palate delivers loads of freshness with crunchy black fruits and a lively line, backed up by grainy tannins, finishing long and savory.

92/94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, RobertParker.com, June 2020

The wine has the highest levels of Cabernet Sauvignon since the 1980s, and even on the nose you can feel its impact in terms of the depth of tight black fruit. Extremely good quality with fine tannins that build, build, build over the palate, and grip on, forcing you to slow down and pay attention. Beautiful spice with menthol, slate, pencil lead, blackberry and blackcurrant. An exciting wine with real energy and forward motion, helped to withstand the summer heat by its position by the river, and the fact that the average age of the vines at Clerc Milon is almost 50 years. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Jean Emmanuel Danjoy's last outing doing the full vintage at Clerc Milon before he heads over to Mouton as technical director. Drinking Window 2028 - 2044

95
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, June 2020
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.