Duhart Milon

Château Duhart Milon Rothschild

 

Duhart Milon has seen many a noble proprietor. One, the Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur (1695-1755) was the owner of various chateaux at once recognizable today: Latour, Lafite, Mouton and Calon Segur as well as Milon, as the estate was then known. Such was his dedication to wine that Louis XV called him Le Prince du Vin.

By 1815 the estate was highly-regarded as a fine wine of Pauillac and the intervening years of 1830-40 prior to the 1855 Classification of Medoc, the chateau came to the Castéja family through inheritance. The Castéja’s own heritage inspired the label of Duhart Milon Rothschild, their ancestor a noble called Sir Duhart, was himself apparently in the service of Louis XV. 

From the late 19^th century to the mid-20^th Chateau Duhart Milon underwent a drawn-out period of expansion and fragmentation, as it passed from one owner to the next, often due to inheritance. In one 25 year period the chateau saw no less than 5 separate owners. The estate went into decline and quality suffered. In 1962 Chateau Duhart Milon, then with only 17ha of working vineyard out of it’s entire 110Ha estate, was bought by the Rothschild famlily and it became Chateau Duhart Milon Rothschild. A major programme of renovation followed.

Today, the full extent of the Duhart Milon vineyards lie in a single area to the west of Chateau Lafite Rothschild in an area called the Milon hill, which itself abuts and protects the Carruades plateau. The current 152ha of vineyard is the result of much consolidation carried out through the purchase of nearby plots, the trading or renovation of others and a series of replanting, grubbing up and drainage initiatives together with renovation of the wine cellar.

 

Style

Text book Bordeaux, rich, full bodied and tannic, elegance with power, “an iron fist in a velvet glove”, aromatic qualities as well: cassis, cedar, tobacco, truffle, dark berries and lead pencil are common scents.

 

Top-rated vintages

Vintage	RP	JR	Market price £	£ / Parker points
2010	94-96	17	1,100	11.57
2009	93-95	17.5	1,200	12.63
2008	93-95	17	1,150	12.23
2007	90	17	1,050	11.67
2006	92	16.5	960	10.43
2005	94	18	1,195	12.71
2003	92	16	1,125	12.23
2000	90	16	1,325	14.72
1996	90	17.5	1,170	13.00
1990	90		1,200	13.33

As per June 2011

 

 

Market

The extensive programme of renovation carried out and sustained since the early 1960s and the chateau’s integration into the Lafite stable has radically transformed the latter history of Duhart Milon.  Moreover, Lafite’s own marketing initiatives backed up by consistency at the very highest level have made it enormously popular in new markets, to the benefit of Duhart Milon. 

 

Liv-ex Power 100 ranking

2010	total score	2009	move
15	186	33	+18

The Liv-ex Power 100 is a list of the top performers over the previous year and their position starting the current year.  The indice traces the movement of chateau and other wines using a sophisticated weighting system based on average prices, production, notional availability and Parker Points.

 

 

Duhart Milon at a glance

Commune: Pauillac

Soils: fine gravel mixed with Aeolian sands on tertiary limestone bedrock. Well-drained gravel soils with iron and marl deposits gravel and sand, iron and clay, in parts limestone and the level of clay increase, ample water.

Climate: maritime, moderated by the Gironde estuary and Atlantic Ocean, pine forests provide insulation from strong winds off the ocean and help to lessen summer temperatures.

District: Medoc

Classification: 4eme Cru Classe 1855

Owner: Baron Eric de Rothschild

Winemaker: Charles Chevalier 

Vineyard: 73ha planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon vines, 30 % Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

Vinification and ageing: 50 % new oak barrels, for 14 – 16 months.

Production: 30,000 cases

Wines: Duhart Milon Rothschild, Moulin de Duhart, Baron de Milon

Other holdings: the Rothschilds have an extensive range of holdings and joint ventures, in Bordeaux and other wine regions in the Old and New World.