Château Clerc Milon 2021 is a classically styled Pauillac that shines with finesse and freshness. Blending all five Bordeaux varieties—including a rare touch of Carménère—this vintage delivers floral nuance, vibrant acidity, and chalky tannins. It's a poised and elegant wine that favors structure and subtle complexity over overt power, promising graceful evolution in the cellar.

JamesSuckling.com | JS 94
Published: Apr 5, 2024

This wine has notes of redcurrants as well as lead pencil, stone and salt. Medium-bodied, with white flowers, racy and firm tannins and balanced acidity. Linear and vivid. A blend of 59% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 10% cabernet franc, 1.5% petit verdot and 1.5% carmenere. Better in two to four years. Drink after 2027.

Decanter | D 94
Published: Dec 1, 2023
Drink: 2025-2045

Ripe, dark and fragrant fruit on the nose - dark plums, cherries, damsons and blackberries with a dusting of black chocolate - coolness but also touches of floral sweetness. Smells softly floral and softly herbal with the fruit at the fore. Smooth and round, nice fullness to the texture - very slightly chewy and plush tannins, this has a bit of flesh to it which I like - textured and filling in the mouth. Ripe strawberries, chewy blackcurrants, it’s cool but textured, grippy, salty and stony. Really a great expression with nuance and layers of different elements. Holds the interest. A touch narrow a bitter still on the finish, though excellent high acidity gives life and vibrancy and nicely counters the plush fruit. Quite a complete wine, not with sunny exuberance but finessed and still flavourful.

The Wine Advocate | RP 93
Published: Feb 8, 2024
Date: 2027-2045

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.

Chateau-clerc-milon.com

One of Château Clerc Milon’s distinctive features is its blend, which combines five typical Bordeaux grape varieties in a true reflection of its vineyard: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenere. Each variety’s contribution is essential but must be in the right proportions to express the best of the estate, vintage after vintage.

Cabernet Sauvignon brings structure and complex aromas and flavours as well as great ageing potential.
Cabernet Franc brings freshness. Its proportion is another distinguishing feature of the wine.
Merlot complements the Cabernets with its full and smooth character as well as its velvety mouthfeel.
The rich and complex array of aromas and flavours is set off by the spice notes of Petit Verdot.
Carmenere gives the best of itself, bringing subtle notes of wilted rose petals and violet. Making up a small proportion of the blend, it is an essential part of Château Clerc Milon.

Vintage 2021

Climatic Conditions

After a mild and wetter-than-average winter, budbreak took place early and evenly in late March. This was followed by a very dry April, including a significant cold spell, fortunately without incidence on our vineyards thanks to the influence of the nearby Gironde estuary.

May brought cool and damp weather which slowed vine growth. Flowering consequently took place within the average dates and in excellent conditions resulting from a marked rise in temperature.

Unsettled and stormy conditions from mid-June to mid-July activated mildew, which remained virulent until the end of veraison. Fortunately, drought in August and early September halted the disease, while the resulting water stress improved the quality potential of the grapes grown on our gravel soils. This period was crucial for the maturity of the pips, the development of the tannic structure and the appearance of fruit aromas and flavours.

Despite a severe threat of disease at the approach of harvest, the quality of our terroir combined with an alert, responsive and cohesive team of pickers working at a sustained pace enabled us to bring in a healthy crop at optimum maturity.

The 2021 vintage, having matured in conditions more typical of northerly latitudes, shows a return to the classic equilibrium of vintages from a generation ago, yielding fresh, well-balanced and well-structured wines that will reveal their full complexity with time.

Tasting Notes
The wine is a deep, garnet-hued red.
The distinguished and elegant nose expresses cherry, blackcurrant and liquorice aromas mingled with floral notes of violet. The rich and powerful attack reveals a precise and elegant tannic structure on the mid-palate.
Refined touches of pepper and cedarwood round off a radiant array of flavours. The beautifully balanced finish lingers long on the palate, heralding excellent ageing potential.

Varietal mix 2021 Vintage
59%    Cabernet Sauvignon
28%    Merlot
10%    Cabernet Franc
1,5%    Carmenère
1,5%    Petit Verdot