2018 Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac Grand Cru Classé

Château Duhart Milon is located in the Pauillac appellation, on the west side of Château Lafite-Rothschild. The château currently has over 70 hectares of vineyards. The soil is very typical for the region and contains a mixture of fine gravel, sand and lime. In combination with the mild climate, this is an ideal place for the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is the main grape here. In addition, the château uses merlot and cabernet franc. The average age of the vines is over 30 years.

The close collaboration with neighbor Château Lafite-Rothschild has led to an enormous boost in quality. Typical characteristics are: low yields, manual harvest, classic vinification and a great sensitivity to the individual character of a vintage. This leads to very high-quality wines that reflect the special character of the Pauillac appellation: a combination of strength, elegance and a unique ability to age. The wine matures in oak barrels from the own cooperage.

The vinification for this wine takes place through controlled fermentation in tanks before maturing in barriques. Depending on the vintage, this aging takes 10 to 18 months.

The Duhart-Milion is a bland of the typical Pauillac composition of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is deep purple-red in color, changing into garnet to brown-red in color. It has a powerful, richly variegated fragrance with notes of black cherry, blackberry and cedar and a nice wood note. Full, firm attack, very cool texture and a complex fruity taste with earthy notes, playful tannins, freshness of the Cabernet and an impressive length. The wine is at its best when the Merlot has fully matured because then the wines get those Merlot tannins, acids and vegetable notes that give the extra complexity that this vintage gives. The vineyard borders that of Château Lafite Rothschild (same owners) and Lafite's refined elegance is almost always present in Duhart-Milon, along with spicy wood, vanilla and tobacco notes. The cellars are located at the quay of Pauillac. Of the barrels used there, 33% to 40% are new. The 2018 Vintage has received one of the highest ratings ever and Suckling ends his rating with: "Could be best ever"