| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
A chewy wine but the tannins are polished and pretty. Full body, intense fruit and tannins, and a persistent finish. Muscular but balanced. Try in 2018.
This feels young and concentrated, but there is an angularity to the tannins that is not so present in Armailhac. A smoky tobacco edge is set against an intense black cherry and cassis mid palate with powerful tannins. After a few moments in the glass the structure softens, and this is at the beginning of its drinking window. I rarely give the same score to both Clerc and Armailhac, but both are very different expressions of the 2011 vintage, and each has its own charm. Temporary cellar at the time. 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmanère complete the blend.
One of the few wines in the Médoc to use Carmenère (even if it's only 1% of the blend), this is dense and concentrated, with lashings of smoky oak, plush bramble and liquorice fruit and sweet, polished tannins. It's quite a worked wine, but it's hugely drinkable too, with ripe fruit for the vintage and bags of flavour. 10+ years.
Firm deep colour and fine briary spice nose, very good depth, very Pauillac, full of character and potential complexity. Drink 2017-2030.
Administrator Philippe Dhalluin has produced a firmly structured 2011 Clerc Milon that displays notes of red and dark cherries intermixed with earthy, dusty characteristics, medium body and good purity. Slightly angular, it will benefit from some bottle age, and should evolve for 15 or more years. The only troublesome element is the tartness in the finish, which should soften and dissipate in several years.
Administrator Philippe Dalhuin told me this property (100 acres) has 240 separate parcels, which must make the strategy of harvesting a nightmare. Composed of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and a dollop of Petit Verdot, the 2011 Clerc Milon is more tannic, tightly knit and structured than its sister chateau, d'Armailhac. With more acidity showing, it performed as if it had just come off malolactic fermentation. Possessing a dense color along with copious notes of new saddle leather, black currants, mocha and wood spice, it will require several years of bottle age, and should keep well for 15+ years.
The 2011 Clerc-Milon, a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 1% Carmenere and 1% Petit Verdot, has a lifted sorbet bouquet that usually seems more extravagant and precocious than d'Armailhac. The palate shows slightly higher acidity than the d'Armailhac (pH 3.65 compared to 3.75 for the d'Armailhac.). It is slightly pinched at the moment, very linear and strict with a little hardness on the finish that should soften with time. This will be more representative after bottling. Tasted April 2012.
This is a racy young wine with currants and blueberries on the nose and palate. Full and very silky with fine tannins and a balanced finish. A little muscular and lean. 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Carmenere.
