2024 Chateau Duhart-Milon 4eme Cru Classe, Pauillac

A lighter vintage that highlights finesse rather than power or concentration. Fresh blue fruit with a medium body and fine-grained tannins. Fresh but supple in a refined, medium-long finish. 78% cabernet sauvignon and 22% merlot.

Dark fragrant black berries with milk chocolate accents. Smells rich and heady. Smooth and sappy, this has a nice texture straight away, fine tannins have a soft chalkiness with some bramble fruit underneath alongside subtle tobacco, dark chocolate and liquorice saltiness. Calm and collected, gentle but still with structure and a slow strength. Great mouth-watering acidity and fruit all the way through. A yield of 32hl/ha. 3.75pH. 14% press. No Moulin de Duhart being offered En Primeur.

A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot, the 2024 Duhart-Milon was cropped at 32 hectoliters per hectare, and it was here that the Lafite team concluded the harvest. Offering up aromas of cassis and red berries mingled with hints of violets, pen ink, licorice and toasty oak, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and fleshy, with a round, integrated, charming profile, concluding with a moderately persistent finish.

Currants, with tobacco leaf, and cigar box aromatics are already on display in the nose. Bright, fresh, crisp, and crunchy, there is a lot of vibrance to the red berries in the medium-bodied, vivid finish, topped off with a sprig of mint on the backend. Give it just a year, or two in the bottle, and this is going to be even better. The wine is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 22% Merlot. 13% ABV, 14% press wine. Harvesting took place September 24 – October 8. Drink from 2028-2045.

Shows density and balance, with leafy but fragrant aromatics that unfurl slowly, and bright acidity that is not overpowering to the blueberry and blackcurrant fruits. The skill of the Lafite team is clear here, and this is a classically balanced Duhart that will age well. Harvest September 25 to October 4, 32hl/h yield, above the Pauillac average. Moulin de Duhart is not being sold En Primeur.

The 2024 Duhart-Milon opens with strong Cabernet Sauvignon inflections. Blue-toned fruit, lavender, spice and dried herbs open first, all framed by brisk acids and supporting tannins that lend shape. The 2024 includes 14% press wines, about the norm here. This is a very promising Duhart.

The 2024 Château Duhart-Milon is based on 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot that was harvested between the 24th of September and the 8th of October. Ripe darker berries, framboise, subtle cassis as well as spicy, floral nuances all define the aromatics, and it's a medium-bodied, pretty, layered, graceful Pauillac. It has solid ripeness, a pure, layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length.

The 2024 Duhart-Milon was picked between September 24 and October 8 and matured in 50% new oak. The aromatics take their time to coalesce. It's a little herbaceous at first although that ebbs away to reveal quite pure blackcurrant, raspberry and Morello scents. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, a mixture of red and black fruit and a dab of licorice toward the finish that just tapers slightly. Overall, this is a decent Pauillac in an old-school style that I approve of.

78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot. 32 hl/ha. First vintage certified organic. Cask sample. Aromatic and fresh with red-berry aromas but a little lean, the acidity present. Light but fine tannins. A little strict on the finish and unusually forward. (JL)