Château Duhart-Milon
The vintage
In 2021 Duhart-Milon appears cheerful yet direct, having taken advantage of the best of both worlds. With a less sunny vintage, it was interesting to see the differences amongst the terroirs emerging between the areas with more clay, where a large part of our Merlots are planted, and our dry gravel terroirs better suited to stress-free years. This year, the Cabernets did well and almost all of them went into the blend, even our young 5-year-old vines that have benefited from the major restructuring work carried out by the team. In the end, there is a historically low percentage of Merlot and the pleasure of rediscovering the identity of Duhart which we had been missing: its historically direct character softened by the beautiful ripeness it has shown in recent years.
Location
Pauillac is located on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, approximately 40km north of Bordeaux. With the tempering influence of the estuary and a great diversity of soils originating from both the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, Pauillac boasts exceptional climate and geological conditions for the production of outstanding wines.
Terroir
Château Duhart-Milon’s vineyard consists of a single block of vines adjacent to Château Lafite Rothschild, on the hillside to the west of the Carruades plateau. The property has 76 hectares of vines. The soil consists of fine gravel mixed with aeolian sand on a tertiary limestone.
Winemaking
Château Duhart-Milon is made according to traditional Bordeaux methods. The grapes are carefully sorted and placed in concrete or stainless-steel vats depending on their provenance for alcoholic fermentation. Gentle pumping over is carried out during fermentation to optimize extraction. Total maceration time is about 20 days before racking. Following this rigorous selection, the wine is blended and transferred to oak barrels (50% new).
Once the wines have undergone malolactic fermentation, they are transferred to French oak barrels made by the Tonnellerie des Domaines in Pauillac. Each barrel is tasted individually in December in order to determine which ones will be selected for the grand vin.
Grapes
Tasting
Purple robe with hints of violin.
The nose is still discreet, but already deep and warm, with hints of raspberry and cinnamon.
The attack is straightforward and full, in the purest Duhart Milon style. The wine opens up gradually, rising crescendo in power. The finish is harmonious, finishing brightly on red fruits, accompanied by discreet vanilla notes.
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