Château Duhart-Milon 2016

The vintage

2016 stands out at Bordeaux for its climatic homogeneity, making it a qualitative vintage for the entire region.

After budburst on dates close to normal, spring was rather rainy and cool. June was particularly gloomy and cold, but flowering nevertheless took place in good conditions. Summer was hot and very Sec, almost too Sec at the beginning of September, as ripening was sometimes blocked.

Duhart-Milon, thanks to its cool, late terroir, weathered this stressful period perfectly until the ideal rains in mid-September. From then on, the vintage was won and ripening was completed in optimal conditions.

Situation

The Pauillac appellation is located on the Rive gauche of the Gironde estuary, around 40 km north of Bordeaux. Benefiting from the influence of the estuary and a great diversity of soils originating from the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, Pauillac combines exceptional climatic and geological conditions to produce great wines.

Terroir

The vineyards of Château Duhart-Milon extend almost in a single block on the west side of Château Lafite Rothschild, on the Milon hillside which extends the Carruades de Lafite plateau. The estate comprises 76 ha of vines. The soils are fine gravel mixed with Aeolian sands on a tertiary limestone subsoil.

Vinification

Château Duhart-Milon is made using traditional Bordeaux winemaking methods. The grapes are meticulously sorted and then, depending on their parcel of origin, placed in wooden, cement or stainless steel vats for alcoholic fermentation. Light pumping-over is carried out during fermentation to optimize Extraction. Total maceration time is approximately 20 days before racking. Following malolactic fermentation, the wines are filled into French oak barrels made by Tonnellerie des Domaines to Pauillac. The barrels are individually tasted in December to ensure a strict selection of the finest wines. Following this selection, the wine is blended and then filled into oak barrels (50% new wood).

Tasting

Attractive dark color with violet and black highlights.

Beautiful nose, complex and delicate despite the wine's youth. Woody and toasty notes blend perfectly with freshness, the hallmark of well-controlled ripening.

On the palate, the attack is pure and delicate. Discreet at first, the wine progressively invades the palate to take on great fullness, but never aggressively. The wine is both powerful and light. The density of the Cabernet Sauvignon asserts itself on the Secsecond half of the palate.

The wine is very long and remains perfectly balanced throughout the finish.