Verticale of Chateau Palmer

Toulouse, France
Tasted Saturday, May 22, 2004 by Will with 1,526 views

Introduction

Here we go for the big event of the week-end, a verticale of Palmer from 1970 to 1992 with 17 bottles (some vintages are missing but not the important ones) and 1 ringer (which I actually knew was a Trois Chardons 83, made by the same winemaker than Palmer).

The wines were served by flights of 3, with always the first one being the oldest of the 3 and the last one the youngest. Only the first 2 flights (out of 6) were served without food, the next 2 with a Navarin d'agneau (navarin of lamb) and the final 2 with a Gigôt d'agneau with beans (leg of lamb). All the food was cooked to perfection and the meat was exceptionnally good: one participant provided the very young lamb, killed recently and basically the whole of the lamb was used in the 2 courses! Unfortunately the consequence was that it was hard to compare wines between flights since the conditions had changed so drastically: with or without food makes such a huge difference!

All the vintages were revealed after each flight, but since 6 vintages were missing we couldn't double-guess the outcome, even at the end

Flight 1 (3 Notes)

  • 1974 Château Palmer 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Just by the colour and the nose you can guess it's an old wine. So far so good. Unfortunately the palate is a bit weak, lacks structure and the alcohol is perceptible. The finish is nice but a bit dry. I made a wild guess and said '74. Good start!

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  • 1987 Château Palmer 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Ruby colour, powerful nose showing lots of density in the wine, earthy aromas (red beet) on the palate. I found it really good and thought it was the '86. It was "only" the '87! Nice surprise.

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  • 1992 Château Palmer 80 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Weak, reserved nose, weak palate showing no particular aromas, shut-down wine, totally uninteresting. I said '92 but this wasn't hard to guess. Even more disappointing than I expected.

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Flight 2 (3 Notes)

  • 1979 Château Palmer 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Light red/yellow colour, coffee, moka and all the tertiary aromas on the nose. Rather acid palate, the wine is a bit too old, clearly past its peak. Finish ok but a bit alcohol-ish. I thought '81 but it was '79. Since I have no knowledge of these vintages whatsoever, this was rather hard to place.

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  • 1986 Château Palmer

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Weak nose, silky palate with well-rounded tannins, earthy finsh but globally a rather basic wine. I thought it could be the ringer, and it was a huge surprise to learn it was the '86. A couple of hours afterwards I tasted it blind again and noticed some hints of TCA - when it was revealed it was '86, I thought maybe that was a possible explanation. An off-bottle for sure.

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  • 1983 Château des Trois Chardons 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Hey! Not fair! 1983 is NOT after 1986, and that totally put me off (yet another piece of evidence that when you create expectations, people have a hard time going away from them). The nose was really nice, very fruity, the palate was silky, maybe a bit weak and with herbal notes, the finish was nice. I thought '88 and was pleasantly surprised it was the ringer.

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Flight 3 (3 Notes)

  • 1970 Château Palmer

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    My notes are not that precise any more since we have started with the lunch. The nose is old, past its peak, and the wine is fluid, lacking and slightly oxydized. Still rather nice palate and long finish. I am a bit puzzled and try '71, and I am shocked when I learn it's the '70. Another disappointment after the '86 - on the other hand, oxydized doesn't sound too good...

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  • 1971 Château Palmer 83 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    I wrote only: brit-type Bordeaux. You know, the decaying kind of Bdx that is falling apart and can only be appealing to critics from Perfidious Albion? That's it. I thought '71 again (but was puzzled since I thought the previous one could never be the '70).

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  • 1981 Château Palmer 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    This wine is totally different from the previous one, a really good Palmer, still young and nice. I thought it was '88 and it was older than I thought.

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

  • 1975 Château Palmer

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Wonderful nose of port and cherries (griottes), but the palate is hard, dry and kind of falling apart. The finish is really dry and hints at '75. We're right, but apparently it was supposed to be better than this.

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  • 1978 Château Palmer 85 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Hard tannins, astringent, rather surprising for a margaux. I also wrote "superb" and "sunny?". No idea what vintage was sunny in the late 70s/early 80s. Good surprise for the '78.

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  • 1991 Château Palmer 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Really nice wine but still a bit too hard. Needs some time to get rounder, in a way.

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Flight 5 (3 Notes)

Flight 6 (3 Notes)

  • 1988 Château Palmer 89 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    My notes are becoming more and more sketchy, here I write that it is an excellent wine with earthy aromas. I feel the 88-89-90 trilogy is coming, fasten your seat belts!

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  • 1989 Château Palmer 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Indeed the '89, probably the weakest of the three, but maybe it's a bit shut down at the moment since I felt the nose was not very talkative. Need to try this one again in a couple of years.

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  • 1990 Château Palmer 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    I think I read somewhere Palmer screwed up their '90. Well, sorry, but I don't agree. This is a huge wine, with a really beautiful nose of violet, a lot of density and structure and a very long finish. And lots of years ahead. I wish I had a couple of bottles.

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Closing

In conclusion, a very nice verticale with the usual surprises, off-bottles and outstanding wines.

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