Winery Notes
Pastourelle de Clerc Milon is the second wine of Château Clerc Milon, the renowned Fifth Growth estate in Pauillac owned by the Rothschild family. Produced from the same prestigious terroir and crafted with the same care as the Grand Vin, Pastourelle offers a more approachable expression of Pauillac while retaining the structure, elegance, and character that define the estate. First produced in 2009 and officially released under its own name beginning in 2015, the wine has become an outstanding introduction to one of Bordeaux’s classic Left Bank properties.
The name “Pastourelle” carries an interesting historical and artistic reference. In medieval France, a pastourelle was a form of sung poetry often centered around encounters between knights and shepherdesses, and it also refers to a traditional dance figure. The name echoes the famous dancers depicted on the Château Clerc Milon label, inspired by an 18th-century decorative artwork associated with the Rothschild collection.
Tasting Notes Elegant and expressive, Pastourelle de Clerc Milon offers aromas of blackcurrant, dark cherry, cedar, graphite, tobacco leaf, and subtle spice. The palate is supple yet structured, balancing ripe dark fruit with freshness, refined tannins, and classic Pauillac notes of cigar box and crushed stone. Approachable earlier than the Grand Vin while still unmistakably Bordeaux in character, the wine finishes with excellent balance, finesse, and lingering savory complexity.
For the 2021 vintage, the blend is:
- 54% Cabernet Sauvignon
- 43% Merlot
- 2% Carmenère
- 1% Petit Verdot
That’s a fairly plush, approachable blend for Pauillac, with the higher Merlot percentage helping soften the naturally fresher, more structured 2021 vintage. The Carmenère is also interesting because Clerc Milon is one of the few classified Bordeaux estates that still meaningfully uses it.
(Wine, .Red, .France, .Bordeaux, .Blend)
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