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Chateau Clerc Milon

2010
Blend
11% Cabernet Franc
50% Cabernet Sauvignon
1% Carmenere
36% Merlot
2% Petit Verdot
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Pauillac
UPC
0 15643 84183 5
Red Wine
Verified Stock
1676C-10/12PK
Product Ratings
Decanter 95pt

Clerc is outperforming in texture, depth, fruit character and overall complexity compared to Armailhac, even though at this point in its history the investments and improvements that this property had seen were just at the beginning, and Jean Emmanuel Donjoy had joined just a year before as technical director from Opus One in Napa. This is a near perfect Pauillac to be drinking now, and I would skip right to it in the Mouton stable while you wait for its First Growth sibling to come around - or simply stay right here, because you are not going to be sorry. The juicy character continues right through the palate, and there are layers of liquorice, black cherry, damson and bilberries, all delivered in a silky texture that is ripped with tannins cradling the fruit in just the way you want them to. I love it.

by Decanter, 2020
James Suckling 94pt

Gorgeous currants and spices with licorice on the nose. Full body, with super integrated tannins and a long, long finish. The texture and beautiful fruit just wants you to drink this. Give it time but hard to wait.

by James Suckling, 2013
Wine Advocate 94pt

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Clerc Milon rolls effortlessly out of the glass with open-knit scents of baked black cherries, blackberry preserves and creme de cassis with hints of leather, unsmoked cigars and dried sage with a waft of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with concentrated black fruits and framed by firm, grainy tannins and tons of freshness, finishing long with great purity.

by Wine Advocate, 2020
Wine Enthusiast 94pt

Confirming its place in the firmament of Pauillac greats, Clerc Milon's 2010 has huge density, and is packed with dark tannins and blackberry flavor. It has a delicious freshness that cuts right through, lifting the concentration. With its tannins, this promises long-term aging.

by Wine Enthusiast, 2013
Wine Spectator 94pt

Rock-solid, with layers of baker's chocolate and espresso lining the steeped plum and blackberry fruit flavors while intense charcoal fills in on the hefty finish. Backward now, but showing excellent intensity and dark fruit, with a tug of singed iron on the finish. Best from 2018 through 2030. Tasted twice, with consistent notes

by Wine Spectator, 2013

Climatic conditions

2010 was a dry but relatively cool year, with no summer heatwave.
A generally cold winter gave way to a dry and cool spring that ended with some rainfall in mid-June. Temperatures started rising on 21 June and the summer weather continued throughout a particularly sunny July.
The fine conditions of late July were followed by a cloudier, slightly cooler and very dry August. Summer weather returned on 21 August with high temperatures (reaching 38° C on the 25th and 26th) and cool nights, getting the ripening process off to a good start.
A welcome spell of rain between 6 and 8 September helped the grapes to mature. Acidity levels fell and phenolic maturation was slow but the crop remained in excellent condition. The fine weather returned, still accompanied by cool nights, encouraging the quality and synthesis of anthocyans and flavour until the harvest.
After showers on 26 September, picking started on 28 September in very good conditions and ended on 13 October. Naturally concentrated, the grapes were small and their juice, rich and highly coloured, displayed good acidity.
These factors – dry conditions without drought, an exceptional amount of sunshine, cool nights and rainfall that arrived at just the right time – give the 2010 vintage a remarkable identity. A splendid sequel to 2009, it is sure to become an outstanding year in the long history of fine Bordeaux wine.

Tasting notes

The wine is a very deep red with a violet tint.
Super-ripe black fruit, spice, dark chocolate and orange blossom aromas mingle harmoniously on the very powerful and complex nose. From a forthright and full-bodied attack, the palate rounds out sweetly on succulent fresh fruit and liquorice flavours. The wine's velvet texture enfolds its tannic structure, ensuring balance and great refinement.
The long and warm-hearted finish is lifted by intensely fresh acidulated and mineral flavours.