Château Duhart-Milon

The Rothschild family acquired Château Duhart-Milon, a “4ème Cru Classé” in the 1855 classification, from the Castejas of Pauillac, in 1962. The property was named after the Sieur of Duhart, gun-runner to Louis XIV, who originally owned the property, and from the name of the little hamlet of Milon which separates the Duhart-Milon vineyard from Château Lafite.

On the eve of the 150th anniversary of the acquisition of Château Lafite by the Rothschilds, the teams faced major challenges due to capricious weather conditions. From December to July, heavy rain increased the risk of mildew and hail. Mid-July saw very high, sometimes extreme heat, which helped to restore the vines’ health and set up a great vintage. Compared to Lafite, Duhart-Milon’s terroir was drier in 2018 for the Cabernet Sauvignon, but the Merlot terroir is more clayey, resulting in two different responses to the conditions. The Cabernet Sauvignon suffered from a lack of water over the summer, but some rain on 28th August and 5th September helped to restore the grapes’ balance and for them to ripen correctly. The Merlot’s more clayey terroir proved to be particularly well suited to the vintage, enabling some of the finest Merlot ever seen at Duhart. a promising result for our Grand Vin, which always contains a considerable proportion of Merlot.

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. Once the wines have undergone malolactic fermentation, they are transferred to French oak barrels (50% new), 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.

Beautiful dark red color. The nose presents all the characteristics of superb aromatic potential. Depth, complexity and oaky notes are already perfectly integrated. On the palate the attack is soft and silky. Then, gradually, with the same softness, the wine invades the mouth, slowly revealing its fresh character, typical of Duhart-Milon’s late-ripening terroir. A very dense wine with tight, delicate tannins creating excellent length on the palate.