Licorice, rose pedals, mint, basil, silky and smothe.

I remember how delicious this was at en primeur, and it remains a stately, elongated, perfectly poised Pauillac. It's austere, certainly, but is also full of rich fruit pared down by a slate texture, the sense of minerality scraping along the palate as you approach the blackcurrant leaf and tobacco finish. It's excellent quality, and clearly a vintage that suits the personality of Duhart - juicy but restrained. Matured in 50% new oak.

Enticing aromas of crushed berries, blackcurrants, sweet tobacco, hot stones and licorice follow through to a full body, chewy and dusty tannins and a long, flavorful finish. A juicy and savory young 2016. Try after 2024.

Ranking with the finest vintages of this wine to date, the 2016 Château Duhart Milon shows how successful the Médoc was in 2016. About as pure class as it gets, with full-bodied notes of red and black currants, tobacco leaf, graphite, and leafy herbs, this beauty hits the palate with sweet tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a layered, deep, powerful texture. It's about as sexy as Pauillac can be and has 2-3 decades ahead of it.

Blended of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Merlot, the 2016 Duhart-Milon has a deep garnet-purple color and features plums preserves, wild blueberries and cassis scents with touches of violets and underbrush with a waft of tobacco. Medium-bodied and elegant, with a backbone of finely grained tannins and oodles of freshness, it has a great core of perfumed black fruit, finishing on an earthy note.

This is very vivid, with racy violet, cassis and plum aromas and flavors coursing through, laced with a mouthwatering anise note and leading to a long, focused finish. Displays a terrific iron underpinning. Best from 2024 through 2038. 22,083 cases made.

This bottling shows the vastly improved quality of this estate that still represents good value for the appellation and for its provenance as part of the Lafite-Rothschild stable. The wine is structured while full of ripe berry fruits. It has weight and density, rich with swathes of delicious fruits as well as tannins. It will develop well; drink from 2023.

The 2016 Duhart-Milon has an unusually opulent bouquet for a Pauillac, offering blackberry, raspberry coulis, sage and light cedar aromas. The medium-bodied palate offers fine tannins and well-judged acidity, though overall it comes across a little conservative and does not quite deliver the flair and finesse of the appellation's top crus. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.