The 2016 Clerc Milon Bordeaux Blend from Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, is a highly regarded red wine that has received exceptional reviews from several professional wine critics. This wine, produced by Clerc Milon, has a cork closure and an alcohol content of 13.5%. It is a blend comprising 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Carménère.
James Suckling awarded this wine an impressive 96 points, describing it as having "hot crushed stones and dark berries" that "jump out of the glass." He praises its "muscular and toned" nature, noting its "beauty and energy," and recommends trying it after 2024. Similarly, Jane Anson gave it an excellent 97 points, highlighting its "enticing inky depths" and "slate tannins" which add "precision and power to the cassis fruits." She notes the wine's complex aromas including "sweet blackberry, loganberry fruit," and "cocoa bean, sage, cedar, cigar box, eucalyptus leaf."
Jeff Leve from TheWineCellarInsider.com rated it 95 points, capturing its aromatic profile as akin to "smoke a cigar in a flower store" surrounded by "a bushel of currants and red plums." He finds the wine "elegant, soft, silky, refined, and vibrant" with a sweet finish of red berries and spice. Jeb Dunnuck also scored it 95 points, describing it as "a rock star of a Pauillac" with "sexy aromas and flavors of crème de cassis, new saddle leather, spicy oak, and graphite."
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator each rated the wine 94 points. Lisa Perrotti-Brown from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate commended the use of Cabernet Franc in the blend, noting its "beautiful scents of chocolate-covered cherries, plum preserves, and crushed blackcurrants" with a "firm frame of finely grained tannins and seamless freshness." Wine Spectator appreciated its "chalky minerality" and "succulent plum and cassis fruit flavors," suggesting it is best from 2023 through 2035.
Wine Enthusiast also awarded it 94 points, describing it as "dark and concentrated" with "depth and intensity," and mentioning its "great ripeness" and "fine tannins." Jancis Robinson provided a slightly lower yet respectable score of 91 points, praising its "real aromatic lift" and "completely pure" character.
Decanter highlighted the revitalization efforts by the Mouton team, noting the wine's "dark, mineral and polished" nature with "intense ripe fruit and liquorice aromas" and a "particularly silky texture."
Overall, the 2016 Clerc Milon Bordeaux Blend is a sophisticated and well-structured wine with a promising aging potential, praised for its aromatic complexity, refined palate, and elegant finish.