Duhart Milon 2021

Pauillac, Fourth Growth

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Tasting Notes

Last time there was this much Cabernet was 2000 (but that was another vintage altogether…). Crimson hue but lighter at the rim. Pencil shavings and cassis notes. Upright and linear with a certain amount of drive but a little light in heft and structure. Could improve if it fills out in the bottle.

Score: 16

James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2026-2036 11 May 2022

This is a really pretty Duhart and fans out nicely on the palate with medium soft tannins that are polished. Gorgeous young wine. 81% cabernet sauvignon and 19% merlot.

Score: 94 - 95

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 01 May 2022

The 2021 Duhart-Milon is a potent, brooding wine. Dark fruit, herbs, licorice and incense fill out the layers nicely. The oak still needs time to come together, but that is what élevage is for. The 2021 is a serious Duhart. Whether or not it will acquire a bit more charm remains an open question.

Score: 90 - 92

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2028-2041 01 May 2022

The 2021 Duhart-Milon, which is aged in 50% new oak, has a clean, precise bouquet of mineral-driven black fruit and touches of pencil lead and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and focused, with sappy black fruit and fine depth. This is a typically classically styled Duhart-Milon, though it does not quite have the persistence to rank as a top-rank vintage. But it will appeal to those who appreciate old-school Pauillac.

Score: 90 - 92

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2045 01 May 2022

Incorporating fully 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Duhart-Milon unwinds in the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cigar wrapper and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, lively and persuasively concentrated, with beautifully refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish, it's a classy, serious wine that reflects all the progress this estate has been making over the last decade. Duhart-Milon's vineyards are later-maturing than Lafite's, and the soils are less inherently balanced: the clay-rich parts of the vineyard are richer in clay than at Lafite, and the gravel-rich parts of the vineyard are richer in gravel—whereas Lafite's predominantly gravel soils sometimes contain more than 10% clay. That explains why Duhart-Milon historically often produced leaner wines than Lafite, with less mid-palate amplitude; but a warming climate and more attention to viticultural detail (sowing cover crops, for example, in clay-rich parts of the vineyard) are mitigating these disadvantages, and recent vintages have seen this estate attain new qualitative heights. As at all the Domaines Barons de Rothschild properties, winemaking and élevage are very classical, with regular rackings and the majority of the barriques derived from the in-house cooperage (emphasizing lightly toasted Allier and Nevers oak seasoned for 24 months), and as at Lafite, Cabernet is very much in the ascendant here, something that the 2021 vintage has only amplified.

Score: 91 - 93

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 29 April 2022

Precise and finessed black fruits here right from the first moments, this is high Cabernet Sauvignon, lovely black savoury fruits that suit the slighly serious feel of Duhart. Expect precision, strict tannins, straight lines, plenty of freshness but without the rusticity that you could find in older Duharts. About 15% press wine after careful extraction and a short maceration. A little more old school Duhart than we have seen over the past few years, but thoroughly enjoyable. 1st year organic conversion, 30hl/h yields.

Score: 93

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com 07 April 2022

A solid step up, the 2021 Château Duhart-Milon has terrific cassis, graphite, and tobacco notes in a medium-bodied, elegant style. I like its tannins, and it has good mid-palate depth as well as the fresher, almost crunchy style of the vintage.

Score: 90 - 92

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 06 February 2022