Bordeaux 2023 Primeurs: Pauillac
The last time I visited Château Duhart-Milon was fourteen years ago, when I was tasting the 2009 Bordeaux barrel samples. There was construction work ongoing at Château Lafite-Rothschild, and the tastings had been moved to this other Rothschild property.
Passing through the gate in April 2010 I caught sight of the Duhart-Milon grounds for the first time, and to say I was underwhelmed would be something of an understatement. It was essentially a car park, within which sat two winemaking warehouses, their visual appeal limited to an attractive paint job, the walls a vibrant white, the giant doors and wooden eaves finished in a lustrous claret red. They were, admittedly, two very smartly presented warehouses. And, to be fair, I was also rather taken with the Rothschild emblem, its five arrows representing the five Rothschild dynasties, which was painted in a circular inset above one of the doors.
This year, with more construction work underway at Lafite-Rothschild, the primeur tastings were held at Duhart-Milon once again. Fourteen years on I parked Swiftie as close as I could and walked down to the gate; it seemed different to how I remembered it, but I figured time can erode the veracity of memory. Even mine, which is otherwise obviously impeccable (written with tongue firmly in cheek, obviously). Once I had passed through this strangely unfamiliar gate, however, my eyes were greeted by an entirely unexpected vista, an oasis of calm within the back streets of Pauillac.
“Gosh it’s changed here, hasn’t it?”
It was Taylor Swift speaking. Or rather, my primeurs spirit guide manifested by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux to guide me on my journey which had – unusually, I admit – taken the form of Taylor Swift.
