Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

Saturday, steak & Claret night. Ribcap (the prime and most tender meat cut) & an 05 Clerc Milon. 05 an excellent vintage in Bordeaux! 😋

Time to look in on the 05 Clerc Milon after 10 years in bottle. 10 years in bottle is always a good first check with quality producers. Since I have nearly a case of the 05, I’ll open another bottle in about 3 years.

On the nose, slightly candied, ripe fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, baked strawberries and hues of blueberries. Vanilla, caramel, mocha chocolate, some cinnamon, saddle-wood, steeped tea, light graphite, dark rich soil, sweet tarry notes, crushed, dry rock powder, stones with lavender, fresh dark flowers and violets.

The body round, ruby, lush and full. The tannins like velvet. It’s starting to enter a very good drinking phase with another 15 years plus ahead. The fruits are ripe but more floral on the palate than the nose. Blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, baked strawberries, creamed raspberry cola, hues of blueberries and cherries on the long set. Vanilla, caramel, mocha chocolate, some cinnamon, saddle-wood, steeped tea, dark roasted coffee, used leather, light graphite, dark rich soil, underbrush, sweet tarry notes, crushed, dry, rock powder, stones with lavender, fresh dark flowers and bright violets. The structure, tension, length and balance is hitting its stride. Great round acidity. The ripe, rich, lush, well balanced finish is very good and will continue to get better & better and lasts minutes.

Photos of, Clerc Milon, their new barrel room first used for the 09 vintage. Their dining & reception room, our friend and Winemaker Jean Danjoy. He was the Assistant Winemaker at Opus One for 10 years before designing the new Clerc Milon Cellars and becoming the Winemaker for the 09 vintage. He has pushed the quality at Clerc Milon with each vintage...achieving the highest rating every for Clerc Milon with a 93-95 Parker rating for their 2017 vintage. Not only is he a very talented Winemaker but, perhaps the nicest person I know. And the last photo, Chateau Clerc Milon and Estate vines.

Clerc Milon sits adjacent to her sister property, Chateau Mouton Rothschild.

Classic Pauillac. Drank this vintage in mid-2016 at the risk of infanticide but it revealed itself to be pretty, complex and already showing a great deal of finesse. Hints of purple flowers coming through, but still a very dense wine loaded with black currant, pencil lead, leather and gravel. I always admire the great tension of Pauillac when it is done right. Earth, gravel and funk wrapped in an almost creamy mouthfeel. Touch of brett that only serves to enhance my enjoyment. Hoping to procure another bottle of this vintage to enjoy well down the road.

Sublime. Deep purple fruit: plum, berries, pencil shavings, pepper. 2005 Clerc Milon has great power.

Still a baby

On the nose; dark cassis, blackberries, blueberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, caramel, dark, rich soil, dry stones, caramel, dry stems, fresh violets & dark, fresh & dry florals. The body is full, round, lush, thick with nicely resolved, soft, velvety tannins. It glides in the over the palate. Creamy, lush, thick; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum and poached strawberries bring up the rear of the fruits. Mocha chocolate, caramel, dark soil, stones, steeped tea, crushed rocks, bramble, suede leather, liquid violets, fresh dark florals & acidity is soft and perfect. The finish is flat out pure elegance. Creamy fruits and beautiful complimentary soft, semi-sweet earthiness. This is my first of bottle of 10. I'll have another each year for the next nine years. Enjoy noting the changes in the bottle. It's drinking beautifully and has at least another 10 plus years of good drinking ahead. Photos of; Clerc Milon, their barrel room, private tasting room and our friend Jean who is their Winemaker since 09. Prior to that he was the Assistant Winemaker at Opus One for 10 years. He is perhaps the nicest person we've met. We are not the only ones to say that. He was nice enough to allow us to work the 12 Clerc harvest and scheduled a dinner for us at Chateau Mouton Rothschild. An amazing dinner accompanied by 76 Mouton out of 6L. Andy Warhol did the label. He also managed for us to have lunch with the Baroness the next day where 82 Mouton was served. May she RIP. Sadly, she passed away just short of two years later. The Clerc vineyards are adjacent to Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Love the two Baffoons on their label. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there! Cheers. 🍷

I must say I was a little reluctant to open the 05 this early but since I have a fair amount of it, I figured why not check in on it. Clerc Milon is normally a long cellared wine. This property sits adjacent to Mouton Rothschild, shares the same ownership and since 09 is made by our friend Jean. Perhaps, the nicest person I've ever know. Nice enough to let us work with him on the 12 harvest. Jean was also the assistant Winemaker at Opus One for 10 years prior to making Clerc Milon. His 09 & 10 Clerc Milon's are stunning...not to mention a very worthy 12 with our help! 😜 As for the 05, it has better evolution than I expected. The fruits are dark cassis, ripe and elegant even after not quite 10 years in the bottle. The nose is blackberries, anise, crush rocks, light baking spices and dark fresh & dry floral bouquet. As for the palate; dry & ripe blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberry & strawberry preserves, black cherry cola, black sweetened tea, soft leather, tobacco leaf, dry stones, rich black earth, underbrush, black licorice, caramel, vanilla, beautiful acidity, balanced harmony of earth & fruit, soft length, softened structure and a long, dark fruit dominate, elegant finish. You can certainly drink this now but much better in 5 more years. A good pair with the tri-tip but it's so beautifully elegant, slightly better just by itself.

Lovely vintage

Didn’t have much time in the decanter but it still showed well. Silky with a core of dark fruit.

Quite accessible. Almost silky. Dark fruit, some tobacco. Very nice.

“Slow Decanted” this with the Vinloq System

DAY 1
👃Immediate black currants and blackberries, licorice, chocolate, leather, pepper, and cedar.
Exotic profile
👅 Sweet, ripe, dark berry fruit and licorice up front. Oak and leather/tobacco towards the end with moderate chalky tannins lingering on the finish. Good complexity and nice precision.
Drinking well now

The remaining wine was Slow Decanted in my refrigerator

DAY 10
👃Predominately dark fruit, chocolate, and licorice with the pepper and cedar less forward than Day 1
👅Soft and elegant fruit, plush mouthfeel, oak influeces and leather. Slight tannic pull on the cheeks on the nice lingering finish. Generally softer and more rounded than day 1. Easy drinking for sure

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