Chateau Duhart MilonChateau Duhart Milon 2010

Dense purple, with classic notes of cedar and lead pencil shavings as well as gobs of back currants and licorice, the wine has a full-bodied mouthfeel with fabulous precision and density. It also possesses a long, silky finish with moderately high tannins, but they are ripe and well-integrated. The wood is clearly pushed to the background in this dense, full-bodied Pauillac, which should drink beautifully for 30+ years.

If you can’t afford Lafite-Rothschild (few can)or even their second wine, Carruades de Lafite, you still have Duhart Milon, which has become a profound wine over the last 5-7 years due to the extensive amount of attention and investment the Rothschilds have pumped into this estate. This blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot is fabulous, a dead ringer for Lafite in a great vintage. (It is probably better than many of the Lafites of the 1960s and 1970s, and even some of the vintages in the 1980s.)

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The nose attired by the Duhart Milon 2010 is slightly more decadent than its peers, with hints of fresh prune and fruitcake infusing the black cedar fruit. The oak is nicely integrated but it needs another 3-4 years for the oak to fully integrate. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins on the entry. There is a lovely saline note here, a dash of white pepper and a long, satisfying, quite dense finish. Excellent. Tasted January 2014.