Get me some lamb and 2005 Duhart Milon

[Nicklasss]

Last night, the 2017 Savigny les Beaune from Pavelot was a bit a deception. I guess the 2017 vintage, for red Borgogne, was more tricky than for Bordeaux. The wine was complex but on a light and short style. Fruity, meaty, caressing red berries, but a bit diluted. And the Pavelot brothers are good producers...

So tonight, i went all-in, with rack of lamb and red Bordeaux. Which one? It will be a Left Bank for sure, but I'm hesitating between two bottles... but I guess i'll go with a 2005. No right to choke tonight.

Nic

[Nicklasss]

Opened a 2005 Chateau Duhart Milon.

Already feeling fully rewarded! Oh man, what a "mini Lafite" Pauillac character.

The kids made the Christmas tree today.

[Nicklasss]

This 2005 Duhart Milon is an exçellent Pauillac. 2005 is a vintage a bit like Leonard Cohen, delivering a lot, in that controlled powerful style.

Dark color, nose is very very Pauillac. No doubts, can't ever be taken for a Margaux or Saint Émilion, or anything else out of Pauillac. The nose is filled with lead pencil, strict black cherries and blackcurrants, pine, light wood, spices and burned oak bark. Traditional, like The few Lafite I tried. The mouth has that 2005 intensity, with that spicy cocoa oak and black cherries flavors attack, with lot of lift. But calm down immediately with strong darkberries, and lots of minerals. Long complex wood and tannins, and austere minerals with half sleeping cinnamon scar. Long. Tn: 93.

This reminds me a lot the 2000, but with more concentration, precision and density. True to it terroir, can't be mistaken, very Pauillac. You'll never get tired of smelling and tasting it. Doesn't have that little extra ripe love that Pontet Canet is sometime showing to represent the best of today's left bank red, but the 2005 Duhart Milon is a infinitely true Pauillac model. I love it.

Nic

[JimHow]

Mmmm glad I have a whole unopened case!

[Nicklasss]

Don't open it Jim. I guess you'll like it and the case will be empty in no time.

It is your style of wine Jim.

[Comte Flaneur]

When I tried the 2005 Duhart this year I was so impressed I immediately went out and bought some. It is a 2005 that you can drink now but clearly it is early days. Eric Kohler, who was presenting the tasting, said that Duhart is a cool climate terroir so it works ever so well in a warm ripe vintage like 2005.

[jckba]

Nice note Nic and I once owned 6 btls of the 2005 that I bought on release for $56/btl from Viscount in Wappingers Falls but when it got dragged up during the Lafite run up, I ended trading them to Ben @ Cellaraiders at $110/btl. Sokolin out in Bridgehampton, LI has this for $89.95/btl so maybe I’ll tack one on during their Black Friday offers to give it a go.

[JimHow]

Yeah, somewhere around 2000, Duhart Milon really began to step up its game.
It started to develop a lot of the traits of Lafite itself, like Nicola said, cedar, classic Pauillac with the combination of finesse and backbone.

[dstgolf]

Nic,

Great note and glad to hear your bottle showed so well. I've had half a case downed so far and loved it every bit of each one as much as you so beautifully described. No question this is a beautiful wine that is hard to leave alone .

If you remember last year in Montreal on that snowy night after the UGC tasting we had the 2005 and 2006 Duhart side by side for dinner and the 05 was quite tight disappointing Jean Frederik. Nice to see that this bottle was showing much better rewarding a little more patience and maybe from opening a little earlier rather than pop and pour as we did on that night. Always nice nice to see a report like this that brings back memories of a great night during different times that seems so long ago!

[AKR]

very impressive

[Blanquito]

I bought a case of the 05 Duhart as futures for $42/each, but stupidly solid half of them during the Lafite crazy. I haven’t tried one yet, as I assume for my palate these still need a single or double Blanquito.

[JimHow]

Mmmmmmm.