2024 Le Blanc de Duhart-Milon

Love the ripe and balanced elegant finesse that this wine captures. A ton of personality, elongated with grip, citrus, preserved lemon, sage and peach pit. Grapes grown on a cooler, late-ripening terroir so finished on September 20, on land that was previously planted to Merlot, with a touch of malolactic during winemaking.

Olivier Boullon (sp??) takes lead in the white wines. First time in the five years of Duhart Blanc that they did some malolactic on around 50% of the lots, mainly on the Sémillon. Fragrant and gripping, white peach, white pear, great length, get some kiwi notes even, harvest September 10 to 20, passing six times through the vineyard. Aged entirely in oak, 50% new., 3.15ph.

The 2024 Le Blanc de Duhart-Milon, which debuted with the 2021 vintage, comes from 1.5 hectares of regrafted vines plus new plantings toward the east of Lafite-Rothschild on clay-limestone soils. Half of the malolactic conversion was done in barrel to gain volume with a low pH. At the moment, it aged in 50% used and 50% new barrels, although Eric Kohler mentioned that stainless steel may come online in the future. It has a clean and precise bouquet, with Anjou pear commingling with lime, nettle and hints of peach skin emerging with time. The palate is fresh and tensile, more than any previous vintages. This is not long, yet it is armed with plenty of energy. The limestone is more exposed in this vintage and I am intrigued to see how this ages in bottle.