Sensory Features: The 2022 Pastorelle de Clerc Milon has an open-knit bouquet with black plum, cassis and light pencil shaving scents, with some blue fruit notes emerging with aeration. The palate is well balanced, juicy, ripe and rounded in texture. It feels more Merlot-driven when, in fact, it is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon. The warmth of the vintage shows through a little, giving it a sense of approachability.
Grape Varieties: 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 2% Carmenère, 1% Petit Verdot & 5% Cabernet Franc.
Vintage: Mild and dry weather set in from the very start of 2022. Abundant sunshine prevailed throughout the vine growth cycle, accompanied by several heatwaves. There was little precipitation from spring until the end of harvest, though April showers and a spell of heavy rain in June regenerated water reserves in the soil. The vines were able to take advantage of their deep roots to regulate their water supply and showed a great capacity to adapt to the exceptional weather patterns of the vintage.
In these hot and dry conditions, flowering took place 10 days earlier than the average: though rapid, it was perfectly even. The advance on the growth cycle continued until harvest as the grapes ripened steadily in ideal conditions. Picking started at the beginning of September and continued until the end of the month, with a crop in perfect health.
Although the hot weather meant that the grapes were rather small, they offered a degree of concentration and balance rarely encountered. That quality was confirmed on tasting as the wines revealed incredible richness without losing any of their supreme elegance or the intense expression of their native terroir.
