Château Duhart-Milon 2011

Of superb, fruity and crisp style, firm without excess, stylish, classic.

A Duhart that was particularly subdued when young, it is continuing to develop and will be even better in two or three years. Plenty of juice, dark fruits and firm tannins. It's a wine with so much freshness that you get a beautifully salivating finish. Not exuberant but well placed, well balanced fruit and a quiet confidence. A yield of 47hl/ha. 50% new oak.

The 2011 Duhart-Milon has a more fleshy nose with brambly red fruit, loamy soil, graphite. A mintiness develops with aeration. The palate is savoury in style, firmly in secondary flavours with meat juices, leather and Provençal herbs. It misses freshness on the finish - a rather odd showing. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.

The blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. With a perfume of black cherry, smoke, and pencil lead, the wine offers ample, fresh, chewy Cabernet flavors with freshness and cassis. 91-93 pts

Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, subtle ochre rim. Ripe plums, a hint of figs and nougat, background of fresh blackberries and delicate precious wood savouriness. Juicy, ripe and balanced, developed tannins, chocolatey on the finish, already very well developed and drinkable, medium length, forest berries in the aftertaste.

Beautiful cedar nose, balanced and complex, but we would like more energy and purity for its standing and its terroir.

Fresher than usual and medium-bodied, Duhart has produced a supple, refined wine with beautiful purity. It will drink fairly early.

Dark, intense, and evolved color. Very aromatic nose, refined, fruity, and deep. Hints of ripe fruit. Touch of cedar. Broad on the attack, silky through the mid-palate, aromatic, with good body and above all no angular tannins; the wine stretches out on the finish, with the flavors noted on the nose returning. A blend of 75% cabernet sauvignon and 25% merlot. Moderate alcohol at 12.5%.

Duhart-Milon continues to get better and more sophisticated. This 2011 vintage shows that trend well with its elegant spice, black currant fruits and firm tannins. The fruitiness is well focused, with typical Cabernet acidity bringing out the fresher side of the wine. Drink from 2017.