Château Duhart-Milon
The vintage
Temperatures fell below freezing a few times in April but this had no impact on the vines given the fairly late bud break (30 March). Flowering on 10 June was very fast and uniform, although the exceptionally warm weather resulted in some coulure (flower abortion) in the old Merlot vines.
The summer was disappointing. It was punctuated by stormy periods and August was cold. The grapes’ lack of maturity and general state of health became worrying, but then at the beginning of September, a "providential" 20-day period of dry weather enabled them to ripen very satisfactorily. The wind from the north with medium temperatures ensured that ripening was very slow, which proved to be a determining factor for the vintage.
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. Following this rigorous selection, the wine is blended and transferred to oak barrels (50% new).
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.
Grapes
Tasting
Very dense, intense crimson-purple colour.
Reserved, very pure bouquet of black fruit.
On the palate, the attack is round, the wine presents a dense, full-bodied structure with refined tannins; very pure finish, characteristic of the appellation.
A harmonious, distinguished vintage.
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