Pre-Auction Tasting - Chateau Palmer 1970-1983

I’m making a donation to a silent auction later this month at The Wine Summit 2010 in Lake Louise. The proceeds of the auction will go to the Alberta Kids’ Cancer Care Foundation. The featured Bordeaux estate at The Summit this year will be Chateau Palmer and I’m donating 6 older bottles from vintages 1970-1975-1976-1979-1982-1983. It seemed appropriate to taste these wines in advance of the auction and my notes follow. Hopefully the actual bottles in the auction lot will be equally successful.

• 1970 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (5/12/2010)

  Ullage just below shoulder.Attractive medium ruby/garnet in colour; initial aromas required some coaxing in the glass, but included some black currant fruit along with smells of freshly cut cedar; continued to open up with more swirling; elegant and stylish - nicely structured and showing fine harmony of the elements; with excellent sweet currant fruit; glides over the palate, where the sweet black currant fruit is mouthfilling, some spicy accents; and extending out to a long finish. Still evidence of some soft tannins

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• 1975 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (5/12/2010)

  Ullage slightly below shoulder.Very dark ruby colour, with some amber on the rim; full and penetrating aromas – some evidence of oak but primarily sweet black currant fruit; full bodied with a pleasing rich texture; this remains consistent with my last tasting of this wine about a year ago – mouth fillibng sweet black currant fruit; there remains considerable tannins; very long finish, with the fruit dominating and ending with the grip of the tannins. This wine is so much better than it has shown over the past couple of decades – beginning to loosen up and demonstrate more of its early promise. There is still plenty of fruit and I expect to see further development over the next several years.

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• 1976 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (5/7/2010)

  At one time I had placed the '76's in one of my BBQ bins, but the tasting a couple of years ago restored the wine to a regular status.
  
  Most of the wines from vintage 1976 no longer remain viable, as the low acidity took its toll over time. A few have endured nevertheless. Here are my notes from last evening :
  
  Ullage at shoulder. An elegant wine, medium ruby in colour, with a marked edge of browning; opened up quickly with an attractive bouquet, albeit somewhat light, but offering up red berry fruit - some cedar and a hint of floral fragrance; light body, but fairly persistent with moderate fruit; elegant and smooth, leading to a moderate finish. This will contrast the other vintages in the group, especially the 1975.

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• 1979 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (5/9/2010)

  Ullage down the neck of the bottle; deep mahogany hue in colour; penetrating aromas of sweet black currants, along with some freshly brewed coffee – some spicy edges and also coaxed some floral using short sniffs; throughout dinner the wine continued to open up; full and smooth texture on the palate, with rich flavours of sweet cassis; good structure – fine acidity – tannins pretty well subsided; a balanced presence, but probably beyond its peak of maturity; finishes long with lingering black currant fruit.
  
  At 30 years of age this wine, while undoubtedly on the early decline slope, remains an extremely attractive wine.

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• 1982 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (5/12/2010)

  Ullage just down to shoulder.From a much ballyhooed vintage, this bottling of Chateau Palmer 1982 still shines attractively. Full depth of dark ruby colour; an attractive set of aromas – primarily dark berry fruit – elegantly invigorates a sense of something special; predominantly black currant fruit in the flavours – supple texture; fruit carries well into the finish which lasts a very long time. Development should continue over the next number of years, supporting its pedigree. Acids and tannins in harmony with the fruit throughout the finish, but lots of room for further evolution.

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• 1983 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (5/12/2010)

  Wine still up in the neck. Clearly the class of these wines ! Deep ruby colour with some purple still showing – extremely dark and dense looking; blackberry and black currant fruit ushers forth in abundance in the aromas; firm structure, with excellent acidity and the tannins, while in evidence, ride beneath the fruit; full bodied and rich on the palate – hugely concentrated - with the dark fruits filling the mouth; the fruit extends out to an enormously long finish. Much more promise to come in this wine, which might last another decade or two. Wow ! This is classic !

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