Winemaker Notes
Beautiful dark garnet-red color. Discreet camphor notes on the nose, toasted aromas with a nice structure. Plenty of potential for this wine.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The character of this wine, a straight line of tannins and black currant fruit flavors, is the model of a classic Pauillac. It has all the structure as well as some austerity and severity at this stage in its development. But the fruit texture is rich enough, dried fruits and spice followed by licorice and bitter chocolate. Age for five years at least.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
It is no longer an insider's secret that the investments made by the Rothschild family (of Lafite) in Duhart Milon are paying big dividends. A shrewd Pauillac lover’s delight, it possesses exceptional quality, yet the price remains fair. This blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, only 50% made it into the final blend, displays some of Lafite's classic notes of lead pencil shavings, cedar, and black currants along with more earthy, roasted herb, and spice box characteristics. Rich, full-bodied, dense, and already approachable, it should evolve easily for two decades. Good value.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.