Clerc Milon - Pauillac 2020

Vinous

91-91

par Neal Martin le 28/02/2025

The 2020 Clerc Milon has a more classically styled bouquet. It's well-defined with leafy red fruit, gradually gaining more intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and fleshy with pliant tannins and pastille-like purity, possessing gentle grip toward the slightly candied finish. It's leaves behind a very persistent spicy aftertaste. Give this a couple of years in bottle. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Alexandre Ma

96

par Alexandre Ma le 18/04/2023

Wine Advocate

94.00

par William Kelley le 06/04/2023

Aromas of dark berries, cigar wrapper, exotic spices and burning embers introduce the 2020 Clerc Milon, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered wine that's seamless, concentrated and refined, with lively acids and a long, saline, violet-inflected finish. A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot, it's a terrific effort from this clay-limestone terroir that has benefited from so much investment in recent years.

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 31/03/2023

Sleek and refined, with a very fine-grained structure supporting a core of black currant and black cherry reduction notes along with hints of chalky minerality and sweet tobacco. The long finish has cut and energy, thanks to savory nuance. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. Best from 2026 through 2038.

Jeb DUNNUCK

94

par Jeb Dunnuck le 30/03/2023

The 2020 Château Clerc Milon brings another level of finesse and is a big step up over the Pastourelle. Kirsch, blackberries, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and a crushed stone-like sense of minerality give way to a full-bodied, nicely concentrated, tannic 2020 that's balanced and has terrific purity, followed by a great finish. A serious Pauillac, it warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will have 20-25+ years of overall prime drinking.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94

par Jeff Leve le 22/03/2023

The nose opens with a display of flowers, cherry pipe tobacco, spices, and currants. Medium-bodied, elegant, fresh, crisp, and clean, there is a nice sense of purity to the array of red fruits along with a touch of spice, and vibrancy in the refined, soft, mildly, dusty finish. This is going to be gorgeous to enjoy in its youth, although it clearly has the ability to age and improve for 2-3 decades with ease. Drink from 2025-2050.

Alexandre Ma

96

par Alexandre Ma le 15/03/2023

Vinous

94

par Antonio Galloni le 24/02/2023

The 2020 Clerc Milon is a total knock-out. The 2020 has come together impressively with élevage. It offers up a heady mix of blueberry jam, crème de cassis, chocolate, new leather, spice and crushed rocks, with a ton of Cabernet Sauvignon character driving the overall feel.

Vinous

92

par Neal Martin le 15/02/2023

The label of the 2020 Clerc Milon contains a discrete celebration of its half-century ownership by Baron Philippe de Rothschild. The nose is quite strict at the moment, leaning more towards the red fruit side of the spectrum, touches of gravel and tobacco, gaining more black fruit as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy blackberry and bilberry fruit, gentle grip, maybe not quite as delineated as the 2020 d'Armailhac, yet with a subtle pencil lead note enhancing the finish. Very fine.

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 30/11/2022

Sleek and refined, with a very fine-grained structure supporting a core of black currant and black cherry reduction notes along with hints of chalky minerality and sweet tobacco. The long finish has cut and energy, thanks to savory nuance. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. Best from 2026 through 2038.

TASTED

95

par Andreas Larsson le 06/07/2021

Floral, dark fruity, perfumed with violet, crème de cassis and a great purity. Dense but not opulent palate with bright freshness, exemplary tannin with some graphite and coffee bean notes leading to a very long finish. A classically structured and pure Pauillac with excellent polish. The best young Clerc-Milon I ever tasted.

Vinous

90-92

par Antonio Galloni le 01/06/2021

The 2020 Clerc Milon is soft, fruity and supple. Inky red fruit, plum, lavender, rose petal and spice all meld together in the glass. The 2020 is not terribly complex, but it is open-knit, radiant, and incredibly appealing, even in the early going. I suspect it will offer quite a bit of pleasure right out of the gate. The proportion of Merlot is a bit higher in this year's blend, which no doubt contributes to the wine's appeal. Tasted two times.

Jeb DUNNUCK

93-95

par Jeb Dunnuck le 28/05/2021

The top wine 2020 Château Clerc Milon checks in as 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot and Carmenère, and it's another beauty, offering both richness and elegance. Ripe currants, cassis, damp earth, graphite, and crushed stone-like minerality define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a more focused, pure texture, plenty of expansive richness on the mid-palate, and ripe, building tannins. This beautifully layered, pure wine shows the style of the vintage nicely.

Vinous

91-93

par Neal Martin le 27/05/2021

The 2020 Clerc Milon has a crisp, well-defined bouquet that you might suspect derives from a cooler growing season. Mainly black fruit here, along with cedar and light sea spray/estuarine scents, unfolding nicely in the glass but always keeping something back. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. An elegant rather than powerful Clerc Milon, with a slightly ferrous, well-structured but never grippy finish and a saline aftertaste. Give this 4–5 years in bottle. Classic Pauillac through and through.

Decanter.com

94

par Jane Anson le 25/05/2021

Powerful, a little austere with tight black fruits that will benefit from adding flesh over ageing, as the tannins are a little angular right now. The freshly crushed mint leaf finish is beautiful, and this is is ripped with powerful nuanced fruit, tobacco and earthy flavours, followed by waves of violet flowers. Good quality, not as exuberant as some years of Clerc Milon. First year of Caroline Artaud to oversee the entire vintage, as Jean-Philippe Danjoy has headed over to Mouton. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 50% new oak. There is also 0.6% of Carmanère in the blend.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96

par Jeff Leve le 21/05/2021

With a floral, spicy, tobacco leaf, currant and chocolate filled perfume, the wine is elegant, fresh, supple and silky. There is a beautiful sweetness to the currants, cherries and plums in the mouth. The sensation of the Merlot comes through the blend more than usual as you find a touch of dark chocolate gently coating your palate in the finish, adding length, texture and complexity. This is so good now. But it is going to be even better with 7-9 years of age. The wine blends 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 13.3% ABV. 94-96

Wine Advocate

92-94

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 20/05/2021

The 2020 Clerc Milon - a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot with just a splash of Carmenere - has a deep garnet-purple color, opening with notes of tar, unsmoked cigars, bouquet garni and graphite, giving way to a core of ripe black and red currants, boysenberries and tree bark, plus a touch of black olives. The medium-bodied palate delivers fantastic tension and impressively ripe, fine-grained tannins to support the crunchy, energetic black fruit flavors, finishing with a lively herbal lift.

Anthocyanes

96-98

par Yohan Castaing le 11/05/2021

Cassis, crème de mure, très violette, fruits noirs pour un bouquet frais et élégant. Bel éclat aromatique dans la gourmandise. Bouche charnue, très belle définition du grain de tanin, pour des tanins cristallins, de la pureté et une allonge remarquable. Une finale très calcaire dans sa définition et sa fraicheur. Aérien en diable. Très belle bouteille partie pour une longue garde. Superbe ! Un millésime qui fera date. Un must have.

Bernard Burtschy

94-95

par Bernard Burtschy le 10/05/2021

Falstaff

93-95

par Peter Moser le 10/05/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feines Bukett nach Cassis und Brombeeren, zart nach Orangenzesten, mineralischer Touch, noch etwas zurückhaltend. Saftig, gute Komplexität, reife Herzkirschen, fruchtige Süße, reife Tannine, Nougat im Abgang, gute Länge, ein stoffiger Speisen- begleiter mit gutem Reifepotenzial.

My Bettane + Desseauve

95-96

par Bettane & Desseauve le 07/05/2021

Réussite exceptionnelle, même au sein de la réussite générale de l’appellation. Un peu plus de grands cabernets sauvignon que d’habitude et une qualité de boisé vraiment rare. Grand rapport qualité prix à prévoir.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

par James Suckling le 04/05/2021

Very pure character to this wine with crushed fruit and round tannins. It’s really transparent and delicate, yet bold at the same time. Super tannins. Vivid. Very primary and berry-like. May well turn out to be even better than this in bottle.