Clerc Milon 1986

The 1986 Clerc Milon, which was still around 22 hectares at this time, is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. I last tasted this in April 2013 when it showed well. Three years later, it has a very meaty, fully mature bouquet with attractive secondary aromas of singed leather and oxtail scents developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, a little rustic on the entry, grainy in texture, masculine with graphite, leather and dried blood. Quite a spicy Pauillac, ferrous even and showing a little dryness towards the finish, this is a commendable Clerc-Milon that is beginning to show more of its bucolic charm, but I would still take pleasure in seeing this on the dinner table. Tasted September 2016.

Dark ruby/purple with a super bouquet of sweet, toaty new oak, plums, black currants, licorice, and cedar, the wine is very concentrated on the palte, rich and powerful, yet antipically soft and fleshy for a 1986.