2020 Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Power and definition but elegance as well. Tight and retrained initially then opens to blackcurrant with aeration. Fruit dense on the palate, a profusion of super-fine tannins providing a velvety texture as well as freshness. Long ageing. Possibly the best Duhart yet. 

Drink 2028 - 2045

The 2020 Duhart-Milon is soft, pliant and wonderfully seductive. Strong Cabernet aromatics open first, lending quite a bit of savory nuance. Bright red/purplish berry fruit, spice, cedar and earthy notes show the vibrant side of this Pauillac's personality. The 2020 deftly balances ripeness with energy. It's a terrific example of the year. Yields were 36.5 hectoliters per hectare, more or less in line with the recent past. The 2020 is the first vintage made in the new cellar.

Drink 2028 - 2040

The 2020 Duhart-Milon has a delightful, elegant bouquet, an almost equal mixture of red and black fruit laced with sous-bois, cigar box and touches of curry leaf in the background. It is a little timid at first, but it seemed to grow over the 90 minutes I observed this wine. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a slightly fleshier Duhart-Milon compared to the obdurate, tannic wines of yore. It is gentle in some ways, revealing elegant brambly red fruit mixed with cedar and mint on the finish. Fine, although I would have liked just a tad more grip and heft.

Drink 2027 - 2050

Dense, mineral-etched, fine Cabernet Sauvignon nose; full but restrained in proportions, fresh in acidity, very fine in tannin, a lovely harmonious balance; freshly, sweetly ripe, long and fine-textured to taste, restrained in the Lafite mode, remarkably supple, full of ease and charm, but no lack of class, with a fine, almost stony, mineral background and superb length. A most complete, understated Duhart, with effortlessly integrated acidity and beautiful tannins. So fine-textured that it will be accessible relatively early. A first-rate expression of the year.

Drink 2028 - 2040

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Duhart-Milon comes skipping out of the glass with vibrant notes of crushed black cherries, black raspberries and plum preserves, plus an exotic spice undercurrent of cumin seed, star anise and cardamom, with an earthy touch of black truffles. The medium-bodied palate delivers mouth-coating, juicy black fruits with a plush texture and just enough freshness, finishing long and spicy.

Drink 2024 - 2039

Lots of tobacco, damp earth, chocolate, and lead pencil notes define the 2020 Château Duhart-Milon. Medium to full-bodied, it has a beautifully balanced mouthfeel, loads of blue and black fruits, and ripe yet certainly present tannins. Its relatively plush, rounded style is not too dissimilar from the 2016, but it offers ample structure as well. The blend is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot, and it hit 13% natural alcohol. This is another classic, concentrated, impressive wine from this team.

Drink 2027 - 2047

72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot.

This is so refined with beautiful currant, berry and some subtle chocolate and coffee. It’s full and very subtle with fine tannins that have a long finish. Such purity and finesse with structure. Fresh and savoury.

Restrained and sombre at first, but carefully constructed, with a rippling muscular texture, full of firm tannins with bright acidities underneath. Like the precision and the slightly austere cool blue fruits, pencil lead and liquorice root. Elegant, precise, feels very Pauillac in its density combined with fine tannins that have life and lift on the finish. Harvest September 9 to 29. First vintage in the new cellar.

Drink 2028 - 2042