Château Clerc Milon 2016

Of great density, juicy yet refined, it shows polish, shine and flesh, excellent tannin quality, complete: one of the hits of the year.

A fresh and stylish version, with chalky minerality running from start to finish. Succulent plum and cassis fruit flavors coil around this and absorb it easily at first. Then pretty violet and lilac notes gild the finish, with the minerality taking a slightly firmer stand. Best from 2023 through 2035.

This fifth growth, bought by Mouton-Rothschild in 1970, has been revitalised by the Mouton team over the past decade, especially in the vineyard, and now performs well beyond its classification. Clerc-Milon owns around 41 hectares and in 2011 opened a new, elegantly designed modern winery. A huge majority of the vines are more than 50 years old. In 2016, picking took place from 26 September to 15 October, and the blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Carmenere. The wine is dark, mineral and polished, very sophisticated, precise and pure, with intense ripe fruit and liquorice aromas, and a particularly silky texture.

Hot crushed stones and dark berries jump out of the glass. Full body, very dense fruit and powerful tannins, yet it remains agile and bright with beauty and energy. So muscular and toned. Truly outstanding Clerc for the future. Unwavering nature to this. Try after 2024.

Tasted blind. Quite lean and refined. A thoroughbred? But a certain green streak runs through it. For purists. (JR)

The 2016 Clerc Milon is striking. Here, the interplay of dense fruit and supporting structure make for a wonderfully complete and expressive wine. Dark blue stone fruit, licorice, lavender, spice and menthol are all beautifully delineated in the glass. The aromatic character and structure of both Cabernets come through with notable energy and precision. The 2016 has enough density and pedigree to drink well for many years to come.

Smoke a cigar in a flower store and surround yourself with a bushel of currants and red plums and you get the idea of the aromatics here. The wine is elegant, soft, silky, refined, and vibrant, with sweetness and purity to the red berries and spice in the finish. Drink from 2023-2040.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, discreet brightening at the rim, fine fruits-of-the-forest jam, a hint of cassis and blackberry, subtle fine oak spice. Juicy, pronounced berry fruit, fine, integrated tannins, a hint of nougat, highly elegant, long-lasting, very balanced; a wine that promises many decades of drinking pleasure.

A well-built Pauillac with a discreet nose offering ripe cassis, plum, coffee bean, and a fine toastiness. Dense, muscular palate with a core of ripe tannin and a long, elegant finish. Very stylish with great potential.

I was able to taste the 2016 Château Clerc Milon on multiple occasions and it was always brilliant, showing a deep ruby/purple color as well as sexy aromas and flavors of crème de cassis, new saddle leather, spicy oak, and graphite. Deep, powerful and beautifully concentrated, it’s a rock star of a Pauillac that’s going to keep for 30 years or more. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Carménère, all aged 16 months in 50% new French oak.

Deep purple with a dense core and a violet rim. Cassis drops on the open nose, followed by raspberry purée and morello cherry juice. On the palate, powerful with a silky texture and tightly knit tannins, then it grips and builds with ever more drive – a “PPP” (Pauillac-Power-Pack) with a very long finish and tremendous potential.

Kunz barrel sample 17: (55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Carménère) Deep, powerful, spicy bouquet with black berries, currants, plums, licorice, graphite, tobacco. Powerful, tightly knit, aromatic palate with dark, velvety fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated, muscular structure, complex aromatics, and a very long, dense finish. Has room to improve.

Concentrated, dense, powerful, complex bouquet: black cassis, fine woods, graphite, mint, a delicate hint of eucalyptus. Dense, velvety, elegant, powerful and fresh palate with plenty of fine tannins, creamy dark fruit, a concentrated, classic structure, concentrated aromatics, and a long, dense, full finish. 19/20 2024 - 2048

This has taken its time to come around, as it is a muscular wine with powerful and sculpted tannic grip, but approaching nine years old you are beginning to really appreciate the brilliance on display. Expect raspberry, cranberry, olive paste, sage, grilled rosemary and cracked pepper, with sweeter toasted caramel notes. Great stuff, director Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy, 50% new oak.

The 2016 Clerc Milon is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Carmenere. Deep garnet in color with a hint of purple, it flies from the glass with notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums, and chocolate-covered cherries, plus hints of star anise, truffles, and fertile loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is chock-full of ripe, rich black fruits, supported by fine-grained tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with great length and purity.

Very dense colour, imposing body, great freshness on the finish—a success.

The 2016 confirms its very fine structure: this is an intense, powerful wine with excellent definition. It has closed down, but the muscle is there. Patience.

Small black fruits, licorice, blackberry and blueberry. A fresh, taut, dynamic palate with a lovely mouthfeel, rounded, enveloping tannins, and a long finish.

Deep garnet red with purple rims. A superb bouquet that shines with subtlety and complexity. A beautiful symbiosis between classic terroir notes (cedar, graphite) and a multitude of fruits such as blackberries and cherries. I also detect spicy notes. Compact, creamy attack. On the palate, the wine surprises with its breadth. It has richness, power and, of course, finesse. It shows a remarkable ability to contain its strength when combined with delicacy. The tannins are silky, creamy and possess a very fine grain. They have enough substance to stand up to a lively structure that imparts pedigree and carries the fruit persistently through the finish.

The nose is fresh, fruity, and offers concentration as well as subtle power. It reveals notes of wild blackberry, wild strawberry and, more lightly, wild blueberry, combined with small/delicate floral touches (cornflower…), fine hints of grey pepper and spices, as well as very discreet undertones of cocoa (in the background) and an imperceptible hint of nutmeg/licorice. The palate is fruity, juicy, elegant, with lovely definition, indulgence, a silky smoothness, some volume, good freshness, power, minerality (a racy minerality), and a fine tangy backbone. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy blackberry and fleshy/juicy strawberry, combined with small touches of fleshy raspberry, juicy blackcurrant, as well as hints of small berries, cornflower, and very discreet touches of licorice stick. The tannins are elegant and structuring.

Dark, intense color with slight evolution. An intense nose with ripe, spicy fruit. Caressing on the attack, juicy mid-palate, with a melting, flavorful body; the wine glides, then gains structure before finishing long and seamless.