Château Duhart Milon Rothschild, 4eme Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2018
Jean Guillaume Prats is already making his mark at Domaine Barons de Rothschild. After a series of slightly lacklustre wines, Lafite and co are back firing on all cylinders. Duhart has been a particular frustration as this Chateau is capable of producing really impressive wines. Anyone who has tasted the 2009 will know what this terroir is capable of. 2018 sees Duhart hit these peeks again, albeit in a very different more contemplative style. Again, introspective, but thicker, denser and darker fruited than Carruades. Very cool and sleek fruit, deep concentration, really impressive substance. With aeration notes of wild flowers, chalk, liquorice and dark brooding creme de cassis washes over the palate. There is exceptional intensity and length - pure cassis and graphite grip the palate. This is a sumptuous and mighty impressive Duhart Milon. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 35% Merlot.
critic reviews
The 2018 Duhart-Milon is deep garnet-purple in color. It offers up notes of bay leaves, cedar, and pencil lead, over a core of baked blackcurrants, blackberry pie, and redcurrant jelly. Medium-bodied, the palate is a little lean and chewy, with some mineral undertones and a savory finish.
On slightly cooler soils that its sibling Lafite Rothschild and often a little austere in its early years, in 2018 you will find a more generous Duhard Milon, with velvety tannins and plenty of mid palate generosity, helped by blackberry and damson fruits, and touches of chocolate shavings and spicy cigar box, still with the slate and pencil lead character so typical of the property. Great quality, will age well. 3.84ph, 37.5hl/h yield.
The 2018 Duhart-Milon is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. With 14% alcohol, it has a deep garnet-purple color and a seductively ripe, opulent nose of plum preserves, blackberry pie and chocolate-covered cherries with hints of spice cake, potpourri, sandalwood and eucalyptus oil. Medium-bodied, it is jam-packed with rich, spicy black fruit preserves, with floral accents and a velvety texture, finishing long and fragrant. So. Good.
The 2018 Duhart-Milon was helped by light rain on August 28 and September 5 that nudged ripening back on track after a period of drought. It has a very well-defined bouquet of blackberry, bilberry, oyster shells and tobacco, focused and intense. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, but there is real backbone and a wonderful saline finish. Lovely build here, and certainly more substantial than the previous vintage. This is a Duhart-Milon back on form.