Chateau Duhart-Milon 2019 Pauillac, Bordeaux

My first Duhart-Milon (I think it was the 1970) had an attractive vanilla aspect to it that made me want to enjoy it over and over again.  I must say I’ve never found that again in Duhart, which maybe unfairly, made me a bit disappointed.  Still, it is part of the Lafite-Rothschild family, so I was up for another go-round.  We tried the 2016, but alas, the appealing cherry and strawberry notes were tapped down by an animal funkiness.  Was it a bad bottle?  I’ll never know because it was the last bottle.  I hoped for more with the 2019, a well-reviewed wine, which arrived a couple weeks later.  When I got around to sampling the 2019, I was delighted.  The nose offered a lot of little treats and treasures, some violets, some black cherry, some cassis.  The mouth is silky, round, viscous--a lot more stuffing than a mere bottle of Bordeaux.  One should expect more, too, for its Grand Cru pedigree and its higher price.  Happily, it delivers.  I'd be proud to pour this wine at a dinner this week, but I would advise you to be patient and let it develop in the cellar for a decade or more.

“94 Points--The 2019 Duhart-Milon is showing beautifully, mingling aromas of cassis and wild berries with notions of violets, cedar wood, orange rind, licorice and spice box in a perfumed bouquet. Medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, it's charming and refined, with a deep core of fruit, powdery tannins and succulent acids. This château is going from strength to strength.”

--William Kelley, RobertParker.com