Chateau Clerc Milon 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2015

Extremely floral with blackberry and blueberry character plus hints of violets. Full-bodied yet always in check and reserve with fine tannins and bright acidity that goes on for minutes. Limestone undertones. The finish is particularly long this vintage. Super Clerc. Try in 2021.

Inky depths to the colour, gunsmoke aromatics, sweet blackberry, damson and bilberry fruit. Muscular tannins holding everything in place but you can clearly see the development ahead, with its concentrated cocoa bean, espresso, toasted cherry pit and rosemary on the finish. Great stuff. Harvest September 17 to October 6, Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy technical director, 50% new oak.

A total gem, the 2015 Chateau Clerc Milon checks in as 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Carmenere. This medium to full-bodied, ripe, polished 2015 shines for its purity and elegance just as much as its depth and richness and boasts a beautiful nose of blackberries, black raspberries, and cassis intermixed with lots of spice and cedar pencil nuances. With perfect ripeness, medium to full-bodied richness, sweet tannin, and terrific mid-palate depth, it’s going to improve with 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for two to three decades.

A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenere, the medium garnet-purple colored 2015 Clerc Milon opens with expressive crushed blackberries, red and black plums and cigar boxes notions with suggestions of dried herbs, earth and violets plus a waft of dark chocolate. Medium-bodied, fine, fresh and elegant, it has a lovely core of very pure red and black fruits, supported by finely textured tannins and finishing on a lingering perfumed note. This is a very pretty, superbly poised Pauillac!

Fuller than its stablemate d’Armailhac, showing more black fruits and a broader palate, but the same silky richness is there – a hallmark of big brother Mouton. Has great depth for the future.
Drink: 2021-2040

Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and licorice, along with the natural generosity of the vintage, give the 2015 Clerc-Milon is plush, sumptuous personality. Although not especially complex or nuanced, the 2015 offers plenty of raciness in an accessible, fleshy style that can be enjoyed with minimal fuss. From barrel, the 2015 gave the impression of being quite structured, but the bottled wine is far more forthcoming at this early stage. The blend is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenère.

The 2015 Clerc-Milon has a lively, fresh bouquet with more red than black fruit, offering wild strawberry, red cherries and bergamot aromas laced with cedar. The lightly spiced palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin; more black fruit surfaces here. Well-balanced and focused, though I would like more substance and grip on the finish. This showed much better a year ago, so it may be entering a dumb phase. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.