Château Clerc Milon is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the

Pauillac Pauillac (; oc, Paulhac) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Popul ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

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 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...

. 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 Château Lafite Rothschild is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux wine, located in Pauillac in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century, and rated as a First Growth under the Bordeaux Wine Official ...

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 Château Duhart-Milon, previously also Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild, is a winery in the Pauillac Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes ...

.The Wine Doctor: Château Clerc-Milon
accessed 2012-09-09 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 Philippe, Baron de Rothschild (13 April 1902 – 20 January 1988) was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix motor racing driver, a screenwriter and playwright, a theatrical producer, a film producer, a poet, and one ...

, the owner of

Château Mouton Rothschild Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by ...

, for a sum of 1 million

franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (Style of the French sovereign, King of the Franks) used on early France, ...

s. At this time, the property was in poor shape and consisted of 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 of vineyards in Mousset and around Milon, planted to 49%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

, 37%

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

, 11%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being us ...

, 2%

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, c ...

and 1% Carmenère, and with a planting density of 10 000 vines per hectare.BPDR: Château Clerc Milon: Technical information
, accessed 2012-09-06

References

External links

Château website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerc Milon, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers