Château Clerc Milon 1982

The 1982 Clerc-Milon is a charming, forward, ripe, fruity wine with an open-knit, lovely bouquet of ripe berry fruit, and oaky, vanillin scents. Medium to full bodied, with soft, light tannins, this wine is ready to drink. Anticipated maturity: Now. Last tasted, 1/90.

Fading a bit, but delicious. Dark ruby-garnet colour. Wild raspberry and blackberry, with a hint of cedar. Medium-bodied, with medium, slightly drying tannins and a tobacco and berry finish.—1982 Bordeaux horizontal. Drink now.

A force in the glass, confident and seemingly youthful still - the magnum no doubt having an effect on the vibrancy. Beef stock, sour cherries, baked pies and milk chocolate on the nose. Sharp and tense on the palate, clear and pristine though with bite and tang. Clear minerality lingers underpinned by a firm structure and chalky texture with crushed stones, coffee beans and tobacco. This is somehow delicate yet still packing a punch in terms of delivery. The power and muscle is backed up by acidity and minerality. Definitely one of the more confident styles of the tasting with lots of life left.

Very, very deep crimson. Quite youthful rim. Good core of fruit. Gentle terroir on the nose, reminiscent of minerals and lead pencils but the wine is still hard and very, very chewy. (JR)

92: A fairly decent wine, but unfortunately its relationship to Mouton can only be detected in trace elements. 03: Has held up well despite its rather light build. (15/20). 08: Garnet with fairly dark highlights. Earthy bouquet, autumn forest floor, baking chocolate notes, quite deep but without sweetness. On the palate, sinewy, muscular, meaty, bourgeois, tending toward a certain hardness; more of a table wine. (16/20). 10: Dark wine red with a brick-red tinge. Dry, earthy, oddly showing green Cabernet notes for an ’82; great spice with dried kitchen herbs, peat and tobacco. Meaty palate, quite compact, showing surprising concentration; tannins a bit mellow, which makes it feel somewhat bourgeois. (17/20). 12: Sound garnet, showing only a very fine touch of maturity at the rim. Black plum skins, liquorice, black trumpets, dry, deep—somehow the message doesn’t quite come through despite the indicated depth. Meaty, little developed, comes across as quite robust. A food Pauillac with plenty of edges.

Rustic, restrained bouquet with a subtle metallic edge: red berries, iron, wood. Firm, dry palate with sandy tannins, austere aromatics and a dry finish. 16/20 drink now.

Another fine 1982, now very much at the moment to drink, showing beautiful balance and character. Classic tertiary notes of leather, undergrowth, truffle, iron filings, smoked blackberries, really a delicous wine with aromatics that rise out of the glass. This has stayed at this level for the past few years, and is likely to continue to do so for another five to 10 years before slowly unwinding. Harvest September 16 to 23. A touch of new oak was being used for ageing at this point, maybe 15%. Raoul Blondin cellar master.