Château Palmer Vertical

Morton's
Tasted Thursday, March 27, 2008 by Keith Levenberg with 892 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 1978 Château Palmer 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Poured with the '75 as the first flight and they started out performing almost identically. This one is slightly sweeter and more expressive, but they taste essentially the same—tannins near fully dissipated into a slick, buttery texture, redolent of pure, clean and still vibrant orchard fruit though not much else.

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  • 1975 Château Palmer 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Poured with the '78 as the first flight and they started out performing almost identically. The ’75 had a grassier scent (some called it minty, which struck me as a perhaps a little too imaginative), but they tasted essentially the same—tannins near fully dissipated into a slick, buttery texture, redolent of pure, clean and still vibrant orchard fruit though not much else.

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 1985 Château Palmer 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    This flight represented a clear notch up in the volume of aromatics and the brightness of the fruit, clearly showing a generation younger. The ’85 was still tannic, starting out firm in comparison to the first flight though it eventually smoothened out and started to behave more advanced than the ’82.

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  • 1982 Château Palmer 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Opened with more developed savory aromatics than the '85 that got smoky with time in the glass. The fruit profile was similar to the ’85, the tannins a little screechier, but this, too, civilized itself as it breathed.

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Flight 3 (1 Note)

  • 1961 Château Palmer 99 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    A showstopper. Opens with deep briary aromatics, and what captivates you when you taste it is the sense of dimension—it carves out a soaring three-dimensional space on the palate then gets to work filling it in with deep, sappy fruit of pure umami. Properly a legend.

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 1970 Château Palmer 81 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Very different from the other ’70s-era Palmers, this one is surprisingly tannic and feels a little hollow. Couldn’t hold my interest in this company.

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  • 1983 Château Palmer 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    I’ve had this wine several times now and never understood the fuss over it. This bottle was about as resolved as the ’78 and ’75 were—richer, to be sure, but just as straightforward.

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 1990 Château Palmer 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    This vintage never seems to get the respect of the ’83, but if there are any of the younger wines that seem to have the ingredients of the ’61, it was this one without question. With beautiful, soaring aromatics, the fruit was every bit as savory as the ’61 although without that wine’s sense of dimension and scale.

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Flight 6 (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Château Palmer 78 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Nowhere near as pure as the '98, showing a heavy cloud of toasted oak and disjointed alcohol.

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  • 1998 Château Palmer 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Obviously the tannin here is a shock to the system at this point in the lineup. But the ’98 acquits itself well. Pretty aromatics and pure fruit, a really good Palmer.

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Flight 7 (2 Notes)

  • 2004 Château Palmer 88 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Pretty aromatics and gentle, almost silkily pliant red fruit.

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  • NV Château Palmer Historical XIXth Century Blend L.20.04. 89 Points

    France, Vin de Table Français

    I’ve had this wine once before but was especially looking forward to it in this context to taste against the regular 2004 Palmer. My first time out, I had trouble discerning the Hermitage influence. With the benefit of side-by-side comparison, it’s clear. The two wines are different. The 2004 has pretty aromatics and gentle, almost silkily pliant red fruit. The XIXth Century blend reveals deeper blueberry aromatics, which also deepen the complexion of the flavors, and a thicker cloak of both extract and glycerine that give it a richer, more expansive palate presence without pushing it over the top.

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