Chateau Duhart-Milon 4eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2009

Talk about value, the 2009 Duhart-Milon is straight up sensational stuff. Made from 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Merlot, it gives up classic notes of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, saddle leather and smoked herbs, it’s full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with fine tannin, impeccable balance and a great, great finish. It’s a heavenly bottle of wine that will compete with the best out there. Buy this wine!

A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Merlot, it displays an inky/blue/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of creme de cassis, forest floor, licorice, lead pencil, cedar and subtle barrique smells. Viscous and full-bodied, it is the most concentrated and broadest example of this cuvee I have tasted in over three decades. It will be ready to drink in 5-7 years and should last for three decades or more. Consumers looking to maximize value should be checking out Duhart Milon, as this may be the single smartest purchase in this great and historic vintage!

Since few consumers other than Chinese billionaires can afford wines such as Lafite Rothschild, perhaps it is time for readers to take a look at Duhart Milon, which sells for less than Lafite’s second wine. The Rothschilds have invested heavily in resurrecting this property to near super-star status, and the 2009 appears to be the finest Duhart I have ever tasted.

This is superb, with so much beautiful subtle fruit and wonderful flowers. Full and very lively, with super fine tannins and a lively finish. Very exciting. Best ever from here. Try in 2018.

The 2009 Duhart-Milon is recalcitrant on the nose, refusing to give much away in terms of aromas. Loamy, peaty scents emerge with time amongst the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, fresh in the mouth with good salinity. There is something estuarine about this Pauillac that lends it personality and its grip on the finish suggesting that it will give many more years of drinking pleasure. This has long been an impressive Duhart-Milon and so it is proven here. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.

(a 63/37 blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot; 13.5% alcohol; IPT 70) Medium-deep ruby. The delicately scented nose is classic Pauillac: blackcurrant, violet, cedar and graphite. Enters smooth and seamless, with lively acids nicely lifting the blackberry, plum and smoky mineral flavors. Refined and restrained Pauillac, finishing sleek and long, with very smooth tannins and a lingering mineral quality. This speaks to me of high-quality cabernet sauvignon on gravel. One of the best young Duhart-Milons ever, and in this vintage it bears more than a passing resemblance to Lafite-Rothschild, which is under the same ownership, even though the two wines are obviously quite different.

(a 63/37 blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot; 13.5% alcohol; IPT 70) Medium-deep ruby. The delicately scented nose is classic Pauillac: blackcurrant, violet, cedar and graphite. Enters smooth and seamless, with lively acids nicely lifting the blackberry, plum and smoky mineral flavors. Refined and restrained Pauillac, finishing sleek and long, with very smooth tannins and a lingering mineral quality. This speaks to me of high-quality cabernet sauvignon on gravel. One of the best young Duhart-Milons ever, and in this vintage it bears more than a passing resemblance to Lafite-Rothschild, which is under the same ownership, even though the two wines are obviously quite different.