Clerc Milon 2017 (750ML)

95 JS / 94 DE / 93-95 WA / 91-93 JD / 90-93 WS / 92 VM

This is a rich and profound red with blackberries, blackcurrants, pine needles and graphite. Black licorice, too. Full-bodied, crisp and creamy with fantastic tannin backbone and length. Deep. A blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, 23% merlot, 14% cabernet franc, 2% petit verdot and 1% carmenere. Try after 2022. - James Suckling

It's immediately obvious from both colour and first nose that this has a wonderful richness to it, offering powerful cherry pit, graphite and dark chocolate notes but without being overly sweet. A serious wine that is delivering on its potential, vintage after vintage. The Cab Franc vines are on limestone and clay here, and reached perfect ripeness. Overall there is a higher percentage of both Cabernets than usual in the blend. 9% press wine. 50% new oak. - Jane Anson, Decanter

A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Carménère, the 2017 Clerc Milon is deep garnet-purple in color and scented of crushed red and black currants, wild blueberries and black pepper with touches of cigar box, violets, underbrush and menthol. Medium-bodied and with a very firm structure of wonderfully ripe, pixelated tannins and exhilarating freshness, it finishes long with notes of pebbles and floral perfume. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate

The 2017 Clerc Milon checks in as a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot (the estate has Merlot planted on clay soils), 14% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Carmenère. It offers a beautiful yet tight, promising style as well as classic cassis and black cherry fruits, plenty of graphite and lead pencil, a solid, rich mid-palate, and ripe, present tannin. It should be accessible in its youth, yet better with short-term cellaring. - Jeb Dunnuck

Crunchy plum and black currant notes are fresh and focused, while chalk, iron and savory details line the finish. Shows nice purity and minerally drive. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

The 2017 Clerc Milon, which contains a tiny lot of Carmenère, has a delightful bouquet that offers blackberry, briary flecks of cocoa nibs and freshly rolled tobacco. It is tightly wound at the moment and simply requires bottle age. The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh, vibrant entry. It is a strict and quite linear Clerc Milon, "correct" to the point of being straight-laced with a well defined, classically styled off-dry finish. Fine, classy, if medium rather than long-term. What you might call a "cool" customer. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media