Château Clerc Milon is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

Château Clerc Milon is located in the northern part of the Pauillac appellation, with its vinery building in the village of Mousset, and faces Château Lafite Rothschild on the other side of the D2 road.

History

The name of the estate is derived from its former owner Jean-Baptiste Clerc, who owned it at the time of the 1855 classification, and the village of Milon, which also has lent its name to Château Duhart-Milon. One Jacques Mondon had come into possession of some vineyards that had previously been part of the Clerc-Milon estate, and after Clerc's death in 1863, he mounted a successful legal challenge to be allowed to use the Clerc-Milon name for his vineyards, which became the origin of the current-day Château Clerc Milon. Mondon subsequently adopted the name Clerc-Milon-Mondon for his estate. In 1970, Château Clerc-Milon-Mondon was purchased by Philippe de Rothschild, the owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, for a sum of 1 million francs. At this time, the property was in poor shape and consisted of 16.5 hectares of vineyards. Rothschild removed the Mondon part of the name, and subsequently expanded the estate by purchasing additional vineyards that had previously been part of Clerc Milon. A new winery building was completed in 2011.  

Vineyards

Château Clerc Milon has 41 hectares of vineyards in Mousset and around Milon, planted to 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Carmenère, and with a planting density of 10 000 vines per hectare.

Wines

A wine with considerable ageing potential made in the traditional Médoc way, Château Clerc Milon is the result of a particularly successful marriage between gravel and clay-limestone terroirs and Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. Powerful, tannic, full-bodied and rich in fruit, it also has all the typical elegance of the finest Pauillac wines.

From an exceptional terroir, Pastourelle de Clerc Milon is the second wine of Château Clerc Milon, an 1855 Classified Growth at Pauillac. Made with grapes from selected vines on the famous estate, it is made and bottled with the same painstaking care. The grapes are harvested in small open crates then fermented in the Château Clerc Milon vat house and the wines are matured in oak barrels in the traditional manner. The particular attraction of Pastourelle de Clerc Milon, a round and supple wine, lies in the rich elegance of its aromas and flavours.