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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 97.3 pts. and median of 97 pts. in 16 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ayalao3 on 11/7/2023 & rated 94 points: Maybe tasting it alongside, pichon lalande, margaux and hb 2018 did this one a disservice, but I believe most critics got this one wrong. There is an off smell and taste, some say probably due to mildew. Not a bad wine but not up to par with the 2015. Not as “napa like” as I had heard. Hopefully an off bottle. (3409 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 11/21/2022: Wine Workshop: Chateau Palmer (Benoit): This was just too much on the heels of all of the really lovely and well aged wines. If I force myself to take a step back I can see the appeal and why critics would be so excited. It has that character that I understand to have been true of the 1982s when they came out. This is big and dense and intense and should have a long and fruitful life ahead (one critic noted 70 years which would be lovely but then no one at our table is likely to be alive). Very intense and dense. (7102 views) | | | Tasted by beatles on 10/26/2022: Tasted blind, and I actually thought this was a barrel-sample; extemely primary, dense, dense fruit, black fruit indeed. David Sichel had high hopes for this, compared to the 1982 & 1961, he might be right, for me it's too eearly ti judge.
¤IB (5955 views) | | | Tasted by KAT9 on 6/25/2022 & rated 98 points: Intensity, super fruity, super balanced. A few people called it Napa, high end Napa. Oak is minimal. This wine is something! For the fans, try the Joseph Phelps backus, it scratches the same itch. (6968 views) | | | Tasted by jviz on 5/28/2022 & rated 98 points: I’m sure Nutty08 will chime in, but hope he doesn’t see my thoughts first…
A taste, generously shared, out of the decanter, so only a snapshot from me, but I think this is the real deal. An unusually low crop with tiny berries, and you can feel that - weighty and intense on the palate, highly energetic, with polished tannins and gentle extraction. I perceive some of the traditional Margaux florals pressed within the mille-feuille that this wine is.
I’ve had the advantage of tasting 18 Conseillante, Figeac, Issan, Chevalier, and Rauzan Segla this weekend. Is this Palmer fundamentally different? Not especially. Is it the wine of the vintage? So far, emphatically. I think it will hold together well, and give a lot more in the years to come. (5869 views) | | | Tasted by Nutty08 on 5/28/2022 & rated 95 points: Decanted and followed over 5-6hrs. Pretty closed initially. After a few hours has a rather intense nose. Darker fruited, but some floral nose still notable. Palate is very dense and concentrated. A definite liquor character of the fruit is present. Tannins while strong are refined and polished and despite the concentration of the fruit are still prominent. Intense lengthy finish. Better on night 2 with similar profile.
Unique bdx. Maybe the most powerful young bdx I’ve ever had. Retains some Margaux roots but hard to say where this goes as it’s so unlike anything I’ve had from bdx. Did ‘47 Cheval Blanc stand out like this? (6684 views) | | | Tasted by BuckeyeBenS on 4/1/2022 & rated 98 points: I did something borderline sacrilegious last evening and opened a bottle of 2018 Chateau Palmer with my family. Normally one to resist opening expensive bottles so young, I was surprised and delighted by what we experienced. The bouquet erupted from the decanter as it was being poured. Deeply dark in color and powerfully black-fruity on the nose, this wine was simply beautiful as we sipped over the course of several hours. If this was a blind tasting there is no way I would have guessed it was a margaux, as it definitely has more in common with Latour at this stage. Big, bold, juicy, and powerful, all in complete harmony. Dad agreed with my assessment. The 2018 Palmer is incredibly well balanced, the tannins are perfectly integrated and there is fruit for days. The profile is mostly primary right now, but its just awesome. I can only imagine how the secondary and tertiary notes will develop over the next decade (or more). Wow. (4583 views) | | | Tasted by Andre Brattland on 11/30/2021 & rated 97 points: Lowest crop since 1961. Biodynamics gives difficulties in the wet spring of 2018.
Wonderful wide yet in a sharp way with this fabulous perfume that rises from the glass together with slightly sweet fruit of blackberries, boysenberries, light sweet smoke, leather, licorice, bonfire, violet, mocha and wet leather belt. Full-bodied and majestic in the mouthfeel with fabulous fruit of the most delicious forest berries of blackberries, plums, leather, licorice, vanilla bean, solid wood, spices and graphite. Really massive and meaty, but in a still fresh and elegant way. Long complex and smoking finish. The acid and tannins are excellent on the go. There is sweetness here, but not in a negative way. Then there is so much concentration and complexity that this will last for 30 years. True my words. Sublime wine! (7240 views) | | | Tasted by B Paul on 9/19/2021: A big wine with so much packed in. At the same time, extremely polished with silky, pure fruit. Cherry, chocolate and a mineral note. The quality here is very high, the only thing lacking is perhaps a bit of charm/character as this seemingly could have been a Bordeaux blend from anywhere (Napa, etc.). Needs 15 years in any event. (5516 views) | | | Tasted by Elpaninaro on 9/17/2021: decanted 2 hours prior to serving
deep black purple color, intense nose with licorice and broad walls of chalk drenched in tight black fruits, on the palate tannic with intense textures of cherries and mulberries as though some mythical beast had crushed a case of Chateau Palmer into a single bottle, insanely long and gripping chalky finish, cloves and chocolate, mineral streaks throughout, a bit monolithic compared to the 2014 at this stage- a current state that may become a future reality given the sheer scale of the elements, noticeable heat as well, this is very thrilling in its way and it is a historically important vintage, that said- tasting this reminds me of a pre-auction tasting a couple of years ago where a magnificent bottle of the 1983 was served right before an equally good bottle of 1990 Ausone, the 1983 was a big and glorious wine- I could easily see the 2018 evolving along those lines- but it lacked the harmonious charm, quiet power and subtle intricacy of the Ausone, I think in 20 years I would be dazzled by this wine and admire it tremendously- but I am not sure where its place would be at my table.
(*****), 2035++
PS - 4 days later. Often, a great or singular wine makes one think for days after. And sometimes that merits comment on the original TN. After taking time to absorb and reflect, I am actually personally much more enthusiastic than I was originally. The sheer scale of this bottling requires consideration, and just as young Lafleur or Trotanoy can seem monolithic yet prove otherwise with time- so too does it seem right to give that same leap of faith here. Time will tell. (5216 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 6/23/2021 & rated 97 points: Following the raving in-the-bottle reviews of so many critics we needed to see for ourselves if this indeed could be a legend in the making. It is a very concentrated, intense wine yet it is light and airy enough already this young. Very, very promising it shines bright with its complexity and precision. This 2018 felt a bit fresher, less ripe, purer and less Napaesque than the 2015 (the last hot vintage before 2018) I‘ve tried a fee months ago. Will it be a legend? Maybe, I liked it a lot but it is not the most promising young Bordeaux I‘ve had in the past year (Margaux 15, Cheval 15 would take that spot).
TN: Highly elegant and balanced nose with graphite, wet slate, red and blue berries, some hints of floral aromas. Intense but delicate, high precision and layered. On the palate the wine is incredibly concentrated and yet without any excess weight. There is broad aroma spectrum dominated by red berries, blue fruit, floral, stems, minerality, fresh cigarbox, wet earth. The wine has silky tannins and a high freshness. It is very feminine and delicate and very harmonious with a creamy yet light structure. It is not too ripe and no alcohol is showing despite the very hot vintage.
Decanting: Not decanted but followed over two days. Good from the go but better a few hours after opening. I guess this would need a solid 2 hours ij the decanter.
Glass: Conterno Sensory (6544 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 5/6/2021 & rated 99 points: Tasted blind. First impression: Intense purple color, savory and scented with unisex perfumes. Highly complex with a large array of fruit flavors ranging from raspberry, red cherry to bramble berry and blueberry. Polished with a strong character. A bit of barnyard, sous-bois and also cedar and fresh timber round off the aroma platter. While clearly tannins will need a few years to fully integrate, the texture is already great - neither too dense nor too loose. This is a structured wine, but also feminine and flirty. It took almost a conscious effort to find reasons not to throw in a perfect score, but what I would say is that mid-palate weight could be felt a bit more. That said, all of the above were the notes when tasting blind. I did nail Palmer (pat to the back), but I was 8 years off going for 2010 as this just seemed so much more evolved than what you would expect a freshly bottled Bordeaux. But then again, the Rauzan Ségla 2018 was similarly open for business fresh off the press. The aroma profile reminded me quite a bit of the 2015. I was swaying between 98 and 99 here and would have settled without knowing how young this wine was. This clearly has the potential for a perfect score with a bit of bottle age. Stunning. (6447 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 3/9/2021 & rated 100 points: Inky dark in color, the wine is fully opaque. On the palate you find an incredibly concentrated, fresh, vibrant, lively, opulent and refined, wine, which is a rare combination. Texturally, this is all silk and velvet hitting every nook and cranny of your taste receptors. The violet infused, earthy, deep perfume along with the layers of decadently ripe, sweet, lush fruits is impossible to resist. There is a gorgeous sense of purity that shines though on the finish making this even better. The finish with all its plum, dark cherry, cocoa and boysenberry exceeds the 60 second mark. This is a legendary vintage for Palmer. But give it time. It is easy to enjoy this in its youth, but its best days are in the future, so give it 12-15 years of age and enjoy it for at least 2 decades or more after that. Blended from 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, 14.3% ABV, .the yields were shockingly low at only 11 hectoliters per hectare -- conceding only one cluster per vine --the exact same yield Palmer experienced in 1961! (6916 views) | | | Tasted by PanosKakaviatos on 1/26/2021 & rated 97 points: Bordeaux 2018 from bottle (Bordeaux and Strasbourg): Bottled in late July, this more than lives up to its from barrel greatness. We know how much the terrible mildew of 2018 struck this estate leaving it without its Alter Ego, but director Thomas Duroux and his team pulled the fine wine cat out of the hat to craft some 60,000 bottles of superb juice. Just as from barrel I love the purity of fruit – deep expressions of cassis and plum – leading to a wine of impressive density. The foreboding tannins from barrel have softened now to the point of adding more grace to that density and indeed an overall expression of fresh fruit on the finish. Duroux says that the biodynamic practices enable higher acidity in the grapes, which certainly help in vintages like 2018. As for the tannin, the wine comes across as “the most powerful ever made” at the estate, Duroux says. Yes, there is a Pauillac aspect as well but with much “Margaux refinement.” It clocked in at 14.3% alcohol, having aged in 70% new oak. Full notes in wine-chronicles.com (6878 views) | | | Tasted by watcheslover on 6/9/2019 & rated 95 points: Excellent wine but well below 2016 (10249 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 4/19/2019 & rated 99 points: The color of a dark, almost opaque ruby gemstone, this is the densest vintage Palmer has ever produced. However, the wine is not heavy, it is light on its feet. Opulently styled, this is velvet instead of silk. There is more darkness in the fruit than you usually encounter here, along with a chalky minerality in the finish. The end note with its ocean of boysenberry, dark cocoa and black plum liqueur, vibrantly coats your mouth, palate, teeth and gums and stays there for over 60 seconds! The wine was made from 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. The harvest took place September 13 to October 15 and the wine reached 14.3% with a pH 3.83. Due to severe attacks of downy mildew in 2018, the yields were shockingly low at only 11 hectoliters per hectare -- conceding only one cluster per vine --the exact same yield Palmer experienced in 1961! No Alter Ego was produced in 2018. If you have the disposable income, this is one of the great vintages of Chateau Palmer. 98-100 Pts (8213 views) |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/19/2022)
(Ch Palmer Margaux Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, The Future’s Definitely Not What It Was: Bordeaux 2018 (Mar 2021) (3/21/2021)
(Palmer Palmer Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Bordeaux 2018: Not Back in Black (Mar 2021) (3/1/2021)
(Palmer Palmer Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, February 2021 (2/1/2021)
(Château Palmer Margaux Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (1/24/2021)
(Château Palmer Margaux, Red, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Bordeaux in bottle 2018 (11/10/2020)
(Château Palmer, Margaux, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, The Future’s Not What It Was: Bordeaux 2018 (Nov 2019) (11/1/2019)
(Palmer Palmer Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (4/11/2019)
(Château Palmer Margaux, Red, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Bordeaux 2018: Back in Black (Apr 2019) (4/1/2019)
(Palmer Palmer Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, April 2019 (4/1/2019)
(Château Palmer Margaux Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Bordeaux En Primeur 2018 Margaux (3/29/2019)
(Château Palmer, Margaux, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/28/2019)
(Ch Palmer Margaux Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and Winedoctor and JamesSuckling.com and Decanter. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Palmer Producer website - Read more about Chateau Palmer
Château Palmer, whose pedigree architecture is a hallmark of its superb produce, is an undisputed star of the prestigious Margaux appellation. History reports that in the 18th century, its wines (under the name Château de Gascq) were held in very high esteem at the court of Versailles, then later by Louis XV. Its vineyard lies upon the famous gravel hillocks home to the greatest of Médoc wines.
A time-proven blend of grape varieties, especially thorough vineyard management and wine-making strickly designed to respect a superb 'terroir' constantly produce wines of immense expression, unrivalled elegance and charm, exceptionnal aromatic complexity and legendary subtlety
Owner: Société Civile du Château Palmer, formed in 1938 by families of French, English and Dutch origin.
Origin: Charles Palmer, English Major General purchased the estate in 1814. A passionate entrepreneur, Charles Palmer expanded and modernized the estate and gave his name to one of the most beautiful properties in Margaux.
The terroir:
Area: 55 hectares spread over the rises of Cantenac. Most of the plots are located on the plateau of thin gravel from the Güntz period, situated along the water.
Soil: Plateau of thin gravel from the Güntz period
Grape varieties planted: 47 % Merlot, 47 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 % Petit Verdot
Average age of the vines: 38 years
The Team:
CEO: Thomas Duroux
Technical Director: Sabrina Pernet
Cellar Master: Olivier Campadieu
Vineyard Manager: Jacques Dupin
Oenologist: Jacques BoissenotRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanMédoc Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc
VdB
The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.Margaux Read more about Margaux and its wines As with a large part of the Bordeaux vineyards, vines first appeared in Margaux during the Gallo-Roman period.
In 1705 a text mentions Château Margaux . But we have to wait for the end of the eighteenth century and the coming of the earliest techniques in aging for the concept of wines of high quality to develop. The confirmation of this was the famous 1855 classification which recognized 21 Crus Classés in the Margaux appellation. One hundred years later, the Viticultural Federation and the Margaux appellation of controlled origin were born. The appellation, which stretches out over five communes, is actually unique in the Médoc in that it is the only one to contain all the range of wines, as rich as they are vast, from First Great Cru Classé to the Fifths, not forgetting its famous Crus Bourgeois and its Crus Artisans.
In Margaux there is a predominance of Garonne gravel on a central plateau of about 4 miles in length and one and a quarter wide. To the east-south-east, it overlooks the low lying land by the estuary. Its east side is marked by gentle, dry valleys and a succession of ridges.The layer of gravel in Margaux was spread out by a former Garonne in the early Quaternary. Rather large in size, it is mingled with shingle of average dimension and represents the finest ensemble of Günz gravel in the Haut-Médoc. It is on this ancient layer on a Tertiary terrace of limestone or clayey marl that the best Médoc crus lie. All the conditions for successful wine are present : a large amount of gravel and pebbles, poor soil which cannot retain water and deep rooted vines.
It is customary to say that Margaux wines are the "most feminine" in the Médoc, thus stressing their delicacy, suppleness and their fruity, elegant aromas. This does not affect their great propensity for aging; just the opposite, for the relatively thin terroir imparts tannins which give them long life. The other characteristic of these wines which combine an elegant vitality, subtlety and consistency, is their diversity and personality. Over and above the flavour which is their "common denominator", they present an exceptional palette of bouquets, fruity flavours which show up differently from one château to another.
Production conditions (Decree dated August 10 1954)
In order to have the right to the Margaux appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:
- come from the commune of Margaux, Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labarde, "excluding the land which by the nature of its soil or because of its situation, is unfit to produce wine of this appellation".
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare).
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Soil: Gravel and silt plateau on a layer of limestone or silt on clay
Surface Area: 1,530 ha |
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