Clerc Milon - Pauillac 2023

Jeb DUNNUCK

94

par Jeb Dunnuck le 31/03/2026

Coming from the deep, gravelly soils of Pauillac and harvested after the September rains, the 2023 Château Clerc Milon has an ultra-classic Cabernet Sauvignon nose of cassis, darker currants, graphite, scorched earth, and lead pencil. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, focused Pauillac offering integrated acidity, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. It will need 4-6 years of bottle age and should be long-lived. Drink 2029-2053.

The Wine Cellar Insider

94

par Jeff Leve le 30/03/2026

The nose pops with the essence of mint, flowers, cedar, currants and a background note of Indian spices in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fresh, silky, and creamy, with ripe, sweet, currants, and blackberries that linger in the finish. While this will be delicious young, give it a bit of time in the bottle, as it will improve with age. The wine blends 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Petit Verdot, and 1.5% Carmenere. Drink from 2028-2050.

Vinous

94

par Antonio Galloni le 16/03/2026

The 2023 Clerc Milon is fabulous. Strong Cabernet Sauvignon inflections make themselves felt right out of the gate. Black cherry, licorice, gravel, incense, tobacco and dried herbs are beautifully delineated in the glass. This is a serious Clerc Milon, a wine of power and substance. I can't wait to see how it ages.

Vinous

93

par Neal Martin le 01/02/2026

The 2023 Clerc Milon, which was bottled in June 2025, is based around the 72% Cabernet Sauvignon. This takes a few moments to really cohere on the nose, delivering quite intense black fruit laced with that leitmotif for the vintage, graphite and pencil shavings, rendering it more classical in style than recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grip, a little more body than the d'Armailhac, very well balanced with real weight and depth on the sapid finish. Excellent.

Jamessuckling.com

96

par James Suckling le 27/01/2026

Excellent depth to this classic Pauillac, brimming with cassis, dark cherries, tobacco leaves, paprika and graphite. A touch of cedar. Juicy, bright and silky, with medium to full body supported by very good structure. The lingering finish goes on and on. A blend of 72% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot, 6.5% cabernet franc, 1.5% carmenere and 1% petit verdot. Drink or hold.

My Bettane + Desseauve

93-94

par Bettane & Desseauve le 15/05/2024

Plus de corps et d’enveloppe qu’Armailhac, avec autant de finesse, très beau vin complet. Dans ce millésime, ce clerc milon affiche une certaine vélocité qui lui donne beaucoup d’allure.

Yvesbeck.wine

95-97

par Yves Beck le 14/05/2024

Das Bouquet zeigt die Natur und das Terroir von Clerc Milon mit dieser gekonnten Kombination aus Finesse, Komplexität und Intensität. Der Wein ist von Anfang an dicht und entfaltet sich nahtlos bis zum Finale, während er seine Harmonie trotz kräftigen Tannine offenbart! Der Wein ist kompakt, elegant und dennoch kräftig und von subtilen Tanninen unterstützt, die gemeinsam mit der Säurestruktur das Rückgrat bilden. Ein profunder, dichter und vielversprechender Clerc Milon.

Jeb DUNNUCK

92-94

par Jeb Dunnuck le 13/05/2024

The 2023 Château Clerc Milon is gorgeous, with a salty, slightly bloody character in its red and black fruits, flowers, chalky mineral, and spicy oak-like aromatics. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, focused, elegant, yet beautifully concentrated red that has ripe tannins, beautiful overall balance, and outstanding length. Based on 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Carmenere and Petit Verdot, it’s aging in 55% new barrels and hit 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.83.

The Drinks Business

93-95

par Colin Hay le 07/05/2024

Clerc-Milon (Pauillac; 72% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot; 6.5% Cabernet Franc; 1.5% Carménère; 1% Petit Verdot; pH 3.83; 13.5% alcohol; tasted at the UGC press tasting at the Cité du Vin and at the property with Jean-Emmanuel Danjoy). Rose petals, crushed and concentrated, damsons, brambles, blackberries all freshly picked and de-husked or de-stoned. Floral, petal-y and with a hint of saffron too. There’s a lovely cassis and cedar element to this that actually makes me think of Le Petit Mouton. There’s also mirror pool clarity in the mid-palate. Excellent. So juicy and refreshing. This used to be difficult to taste en primeur. Not today.

The Wine Cellar Insider

93-95

par Jeff Leve le 06/05/2024

Cedar, flowers, mint, and red currants with a hint of Indian spice blend to produce the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fresh, silky, and refined, with a purity to the red fruits, along with a touch of spice that lingers in the finish. While this will be delicious young, give it a bit of time in the bottle, as it will improve with age. Picking took place September 7-September 29. The wine blends 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Petit Verdot, and 1.5% Carmenere. 13.5% ABV, 3.83 pH. Drink from 2027-2050. 93-95 Pts.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

96

par Jane Anson le 06/05/2024

Pauillac was close to normal rainfall, with less mildew than other parts of the region, helping to usher in the excellent crop of wines that you will find in the appellation in 2023. This joins the best of them with its superb quality, and a real sense of excitement and drive. Expect vivacity and tension in the blue and black fruits, with liqourice root, squid ink, salted cracker, white pepper spice and freshly cut herbs. September 7 to 29 for harvest, 55% new oak barrels for ageing. Carmanère dating from 1947 is in this 1st wine, with the massal selection descendents in Pastourelle. Caroline Artaud director.

Vinous

91-93

par Antonio Galloni le 30/04/2024

The 2023 Clerc Milon is a packed with blackberry, grilled herbs, leather, incense, gravel and cloves. A dark, brooding powerhouse, the 2023 will need a few years to settle down. Today, its imposing, tannic personality is very much front and center.

Vinous

92-94

par Neal Martin le 29/04/2024

The 2023 Clerc Milon was picked from September 7 to 29 and is matured in 55% new oak. It has much more fruit concentration on the nose than the Pastorelle—quite precocious, with blackberry and cassis fruit. It's floral and more flamboyant than the d'Armailhac. The palate is very well balanced with a slightly creamy texture and a lovely mouthfeel. Its concentration is neatly counterbalanced by the acidity, and it feels very harmonious and long on the finish. Superb. If Mouton-Rothschild is beyond your budget—yes, I am familiar with that feeling—then this is where you should look.

Falstaff

95

par Peter Moser le 29/04/2024

Dark garnet, purple reflections. Delicate notes of fine oak and nougat, fresh cherries, a hint of cassis, very inviting bouquet. Juicy, balanced, fine ripeness, sweet plums, round tannins, good freshness, has length and certain ageing potential, a full-bodied food wine.

The Wine Independent

92-94

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 28/04/2024

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Clerc Milon features flamboyant notes of blackcurrant pastilles, boysenberries, and fresh plums plus hints of licorice, lilacs, and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate is bright and breezy, with approachable fine-grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with a skip in its step. The blend is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.5% Carmenere, and 1% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.83. The alcohol is 13.5%.

Alexandre Ma

94-96

par Alexandre Ma le 28/04/2024

Wine Advocate

92-94

par William Kelley le 26/04/2024

Revealing aromas of red berries, cherries and blackcurrants mingled with hints of pencil shavings and new oak, the 2023 Clerc Milon is medium to full-bodied, deep and fleshy, with a layered core of fruit, sweet velvety tannins and a seamless, succulent profile. It's a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc and the balance Carmenère and Petit Verdot.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

par James Suckling le 25/04/2024

This has a great finish, with blackcurrant, chocolate, hazelnut and salt undertones that run the length of the wine. Full-bodied and dense, and then it lifts off at the end. Chalky undertone, coming from the limestone terroir here. 72% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot, 6.5% cabernet franc, 1.5% carmenere and 1% petit verdot.

Vertdevin

95

par Jonathan Chicheportiche le 24/04/2024