Winemaker Notes
Blend: 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A magnificent sleeper of the vintage, the 2008 Duhart Milon is the shrewd consumer's wine to purchase by the case as prices do not yet reflect its qualitative resurgence. Composed of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and 27% Merlot that came in at 13.09% alcohol, it is a surprisingly intense effort displaying a marvelous texture, plenty of black currant, licorice, unsmoked cigar tobacco and earthy characteristics, a full-bodied mouthfeel and stunning purity as well as density. Enjoy this top-notch 2008 over the next 20-25 years.
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James Suckling
Lead pencil and tobacco with licorice and currants. Full and super refined with a currants and light spice character. Open and refined and delicious bottle already.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
I have always found it difficult to judge the Duhart-Milon in the same setting with Lafite. Do I think less of it because it is the "little" sibling or should I rate it on its own? The excellent 2009 Château Duhart-Milon clearly defines Pauillac—black fruits, lead pencil, and firm tannins. This wine has a lot going for it and will reward the oenophile as it develops gracefully in a decade's time. Duhart-Milon has now come into its own and should be judged as its own entity. (Tasted: May 18, 2009, Pauillac, France) Barrel Sample: 90-92
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Wine Enthusiast
With it cellars in a back street of Pauillac, this wine is often overlooked. But with the same winemaking team as Lafite, it represents a serious wine, solid, chunky, containing delicious fruit. The wood is noticeable at present, but will certainly mingle effortlessly in a few years.
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.