Château Duhart-Milon
The vintage
At the beginning of the year the weather conditions were average but improved towards the maturation period. The early bud burst due to a warm and dry winter was followed by a rather cold and rainy period during flowering which led to incidents such as coulure (flower abortion) and millerandage (poor fertilization with mixed size berries).
Fortunately, the cold months of July and August were followed by a superb September.
Location
Pauillac is located on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, approximately 40km north of Bordeaux. With the tempering influence of the estuary and a great diversity of soils originating from both the Massif Central and the Pyrenees, Pauillac boasts exceptional climate and geological conditions for the production of outstanding wines.
Terroir
Château Duhart-Milon’s vineyard consists of a single block of vines adjacent to Château Lafite Rothschild, on the hillside to the west of the Carruades plateau. The property has 76 hectares of vines. The soil consists of fine gravel mixed with aeolian sand on a tertiary limestone
Winemaking
Château Duhart-Milon is made according to traditional Bordeaux methods. The grapes are carefully sorted and placed in concrete or stainless-steel vats depending on their provenance for alcoholic fermentation. Gentle pumping over is carried out during fermentation to optimize extraction. Total maceration time is about 20 days before racking. Once the wines have undergone malolactic fermentation, they are transferred to French oak barrels made by the Tonnellerie des Domaines in Pauillac. Each barrel is tasted individually in December in order to determine which ones will be selected for the grand vin. Following this rigorous selection, the wine is blended and transferred to oak barrels (50% new).
Tasting
Powerful and fruity nose.
The structure is deep with firm tannins. It has great persistency with a lot of elegance.
Alcohol content
12.5
Grapes
Cabernet sauvignon
: 75 %
Merlot
: 22 %
Cabernet franc
: 3 %