A legendary terroir, prestigious neighbours, a providential encounter

The history and the success of Château Clerc Milon are summed up in these three words. The terroir is that of Pauillac. The neighbours are Mouton and Lafite, illustrious First Growths whose nearby vines can be seen from the terrace of the Château. The encounter was with Baron Philippe, who in 1970 acquired the estate and decided to restore it to its status as a Classified Growth.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. has two distinct lines of business: châteaux wines and branded wines, united under a single management in the same pursuit of excellence. The company produces and sells a range of high-quality branded wines which it sources from various partner growers then blends. Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. also manages three classified growths in Pauillac, situated in the Médoc, north of Bordeaux: Château Clerc Milon Château d’Armailhac and the illustrious Château Mouton Rothschild. All three properties are owned by the children of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild (1933 2014), Camille Sereys de Rothschild, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild.

Château Clerc Milon is a classified fifth growth of Pauillac. The fragmented vineyard is located for the most part between the small villages of Milon and Mousset in the north-west sector of Pauillac.

Today Clerc Milon is elaborated by Philippe Dhalluin who also runs Mouton, and he is restructuring the vineyards and fine-tuning the wine even more to continue the fine string of vintages since the late 1980s.

Major renovations took place both in the wine-making facilities and in the vineyard with the acquisition of new plots. Today Clerc Milon is a fairly large property, with over 100 separate plots of vines spread out over a large area but making up a total surface area of 43.6 hectares.

The current grape mix in the vineyard is approximately 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, and a small amount, 1%, of that now rare for Bordeaux grape variety, Carmenere.

Wine Advocate 93+: A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenere, the medium garnet-purple colored 2015 Clerc Milon opens with expressive crushed blackberries, red and black plums and cigar boxes notions with suggestions of dried herbs, earth and violets plus a waft of dark chocolate. Medium-bodied, fine, fresh and elegant, it has a lovely core of very pure red and black fruits, supported by finely textured tannins and finishing on a lingering perfumed note. This is a very pretty, superbly poised Pauillac!