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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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
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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.
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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!
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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
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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
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11/7/2023 - ayalao3 wrote: 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.
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11/21/2022 - MC2 Wines wrote:
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.
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10/26/2022 - beatles wrote:
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
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6/25/2022 - KAT9 wrote: 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.
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5/28/2022 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 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?
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5/28/2022 - jviz wrote: 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.
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4/1/2022 - BuckeyeBenS Likes this wine: 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.
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11/30/2021 - Andre Brattland wrote: 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!
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9/19/2021 - B Paul wrote:
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.
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9/17/2021 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
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.
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6/23/2021 - Cailles wrote: 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
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5/6/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 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.
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3/9/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 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!
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1/26/2021 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 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
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6/9/2019 - watcheslover wrote: 95 Points
Excellent wine but well below 2016
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4/19/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 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
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