Château Clerc Milon Rothschild, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2021
Clerc Milon 2024 displays a perfumed nose, marked by wild herbs and floral notes of lavender, peony, and violet, alongside a touch of nutmeg and potpourri. Bright, dark cherry and redcurrant aromas are evident, accompanied by underlying hints of almond, cocoa nib, and mocha. The mid-palate offers a juicy and engaging character with considerable energy and detail. Well-integrated tannins provide a resonant finish of bittersweet berries mingled with graphite. As ever, top winemaking from the Mouton Rothschild team.
critic reviews
A blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Petit Verdot, and 1.5% Carmenere, the 2021 Clerc Milon is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a swirl or two to release notes of black plums, blackberries, and charcoal, plus hints of wild thyme, aniseed, and tree bark. The light to medium-bodied palate has loads of minerally sparks complementing the fresh black berry flavors, framed by refreshing acidity and grainy tannins, and finishing earthy.
This is one of the few that has really grown into itself in bottle, taken the next step that not many have achieved over ageing. Bitter chocolate, cocoa bean, liqourice, pencil lead, crayon, then with a whisper of cassis and violet, this is channeling a very strong Pauillac character, leaning into the appellation, defintely one to look out for. Maybe wait for 5 years to drink this instead of 10 for usual, but this has a good 15 to 20 years in it, and there is a ton of potential. An upscore. Caroline Artaud technical director as of this vintage. 55% new oak for ageing.
The 2021 Clerc Milon was bottled in mid-June. As reported from barrel, there is a slightly savory note on the nose, hints of brown spices infusing nicely with the black fruit. There is a little more "airiness" compared directly with the d'Armailhac. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, a little fresher and more tensile that its aforementioned stablemate, with ample depth and a peppery finish. This has kicked on in barrel and has its nose out in front.
The 2021 Clerc Milon has turned out very well indeed, offering up aromas of dark berries and minty cassis mingled with hints of violets and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, it's impressively deep and layered, with an ample core of fruit, lively acids and sweet, chalky tannins.