CHATEAU DUHART-MILON 4eme Grand Cru Classe Pauillac 2023 Wooden Case x 6 Bottles - PRE-RELEASE

Description

THE WINE ADVOCATE (92-94)
Reviewed by: William Kelley
A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon (picked late, between September 25 and October 3) and 20% Merlot, the 2023 Duhart-Milon has turned out beautifully, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis, cherries and dark berries mingled with hints of mint, cedar and spice box. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, it's deep and concentrated, with an ample core of cool but ripe fruit, sweet tannins and a long, penetrating finish.

As I've written before, Duhart-Milon's vineyards are later-maturing than Lafite's, and the soils are less inherently balanced: The clay-rich parts of the vineyard are richer in clay than at Lafite, and the gravel-rich parts of the vineyard are richer in gravel, whereas Lafite's predominantly gravel soils sometimes contain more than 10% clay. That explains why Duhart-Milon historically often produced leaner wines than Lafite, with less mid-palate amplitude; but a warming climate and more attention to viticultural detail (sowing cover crops, for example, in clay-rich parts of the vineyard) are mitigating these disadvantages, and recent vintages have seen this estate attain new qualitative heights. As at all the Domaines Barons de Rothschild properties, winemaking and élevage are very classical, with regular rackings, and the majority of the barriques are derived from the in-house cooperage (emphasizing lightly toasted Allier and Nevers oak seasoned for 24 months); and as at Lafite, Cabernet is very much in the ascendant here.

JAMES SUCKLING **** 94-95 Points
15 Apr, 2024 – So much pure graphite and lead pencil here, together with blackcurrant and iodine aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with creamy and velvety tannins that are very polished. Cedar and some tobacco box. Deep and layered. Al-dente tannins. Precise.

DECANTER 95
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 08 Apr 2024) Part of Best Pauillac 2023 wines tasted en primeur
Drinking Window: 2030 - 2045
Some herbal bramble notes on the nose, soft dark chocolate, blackcurrant, flowers, liquorice and dark chocolate. Not huge aromatics, quite quiet. Round and smooth, a lovely juiciness but with weight and balance, gorgeous texture - a little salty and stony, a tiny bit grippy but gorgeous overall expansion in the mouth giving flavour without any overt heaviness. Lovely softness but this still has power and energy. Lifted and intense but so finessed. It has broad shoulders with graphite and wet stone touches alongside bramble fruit and great, almost piercing acidity. Lovely. 60% grand vin production. 3.8pH. 15% press. New cellar as of 2020.

JANE ANSON 95
VINOUS 93-95
LISA PEROTTI-BROWN 93-95

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