2023 Château Clerc Milon
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Tasting notes
As with D’Armailhac, the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon is notably high at Clerc Milon in 2023. The nose is driven by this – with blackcurrant leaf and sweet cassis fruit. It’s a totally different offering to D’Armailhac, however, with a compact structure and tight core of fruit that will need time to evolve, with a long finish. Aged in 55% new oak, 13.5% alcohol and 3.83pH. Blend: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Carménère, 1% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
James Suckling
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Coming from the deep, gravelly soils of Pauillac and harvested after the September rains, the 2023 Château Clerc Milon has an ultra-classic Cabernet Sauvignon nose of cassis, darker currants, graphite, scorched earth, and lead pencil. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, focused Pauillac offering integrated acidity, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It will need 4-6 years of bottle age and should be long-lived. Drink 2029-2053.
The 2023 Clerc Milon is fabulous. Strong Cabernet Sauvignon inflections make themselves felt right out of the gate. Black cherry, licorice, gravel, incense, tobacco and dried herbs are beautifully delineated in the glass. This is a serious Clerc Milon, a wine of power and substance. I can't wait to see how it ages.
The 2023 Clerc Milon, which was bottled in June 2025, is based around the 72% Cabernet Sauvignon. This takes a few moments to really cohere on the nose, delivering quite intense black fruit laced with that leitmotif for the vintage, graphite and pencil shavings, rendering it more classical in style than recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grip, a little more body than the d'Armailhac, very well balanced with real weight and depth on the sapid finish. Excellent.
About the producer
Ch. Clerc Milon was purchased by Baron Philippe Rothschild in 1970. Today the 41-hectare vineyard, sandwiched between First Growths Ch. Lafite Rothschild and Ch. Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac, is one of Bordeaux’s most impressive Fifth Growths