December 12, 2023 - Salon Ficofi Paris walkabout tasting and dinner, no detailed tasting notes. From DMG. Soft pleasant, on the light side.
December 10, 2023 - 13.5% ABV. Deep ruby - a little garnet emerging at the rim but still relatively youthful appearance. Initially told myself I was going to have “just 1 glass” so I used a Coravin to pour the first glass. The initial glass was so good that I apologized to my liver and proceeded to pop the bottle open for a proper decant. Really started to hum after about 2-2.5 hours in air.
Notes of cassis, blackberry, black plum, violets, anise, graphite, blackcurrant leaf, dark chocolate, tobacco, damp earth. The rich black fruits really stand out. Grainy, round tannin. Vibrant acidity gives this impeccable freshness. Elegant on the palate. Fine length of finish, yet not overly impressive. Really displays excellent complexity and tension.
This Palmer is so intoxicatingly fragrant and textbook Margaux - I could smell the nose on this all day. My one nitpick is that it was lacking a bit of mid-palate density and drive to really take this over the top. Given the vintage, still a mighty performance however. Delicious and ready to drink now, but definitely not peak drinking window yet.
November 2, 2023 - This is a bottle to be enjoyed all night. After an hour or two, it is really a delight and continues to impressively develop to the last drop 4-5 hours later. An excellent fruit forward Bordeaux with power & elegance.
October 19, 2023 - Château Palmer vertical (Herbert Smith Freehills, London): 51 M, 41 CS, 8 PV. Green and smoky on the nose. Piquant on the palate too, with the CS influence to the fore, then sweeter and more Merlot-esque on the finish. Nicely integrated and some savoury interest, but the finish was weak and fell off prematurely. Again, surprisingly developed, and felt on the downslope.
October 14, 2023 - Great wine, needs air. Decanted 2hrs before great dinner at Carbone. From past exp. 3.5 hrs 94+. Great fruit, clean and ready but no signs of fading. Sure will continue to develop.
February 22, 2023 - Chateau Palmer 2008, what a nice Margaux! Was drank next to a Chateau Figeac 2008. Not complaining tonight.
The wine has a dark core and very slightly lighter rims that are starting to show a slight brown hue, indicating its age. It is full-bodied and definitely showing some maturity.
On the nose, this wine is a delightful experience, with striking floral aromas mingling with creamy black fruit, toasted espresso, and tobacco leaf.
On the palate, this wine exhibits beautiful Margaux elegance, with tannins that are perfectly integrated, providing structure without overpowering the delicate fruit flavors. The fruit is soft and elegant, with a beautiful balance of flavors.
I recommend decanting for approximately two hours. Once decanted, this wine is a truly beautiful experience that fills one with joy. Overall while it is drinking very well now, it has yet many years in the tank
January 28, 2023 - This bottle is starting to sing as compare to my two previous notes. Pronounced nose intensity with flora, violet, purple, dark black fruits, chocolate and toast. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Long finish and tannin is integrated and silky. Decanted for 1 hour, will benefit with longer decanting to smoothen the tannin.
December 31, 2022 - Dark, opaque red in color with red translucency at the edges. The nose is floral - violets, iris, acacia. Right out of the bottle it is perfectly balanced and while fruit is present the wine is overall very secondary at this point. Already it shows an exceptionally long finish with tobacco, earth, and mushrooms on the tongue. After 1h30 the nose is more herbal, on the palate is fresh but not fruity. The wine continued to evolve and open in succeeding hours - a beautiful bottle.
October 20, 2022 - deep ruby color, no age on the rim, primary cassis and raspberries on the nose, on the palate smooth and with great volume but muted at present, this is very much shut down and is yet another 2008 demonstrating the great potential and longevity of this underrated vintage, hints of mineral and floral tones with time- all the great hallmarks of Palmer are here but in hiding for the moment, this needs a good deal of time and like Magdelaine should prove one of the grander and more robust 2008s.
(****), 2028++
September 1, 2022 - In short; it’s in a closed period. Perhaps more than 1 hour decant is called for. I’ve been thru this with Palmer before; first bottle I open is not ready; but in a few years it’s extraordinary! I think it will deserve 93 to 95 in time. For now; it’s like a lot of 2008 Left Bank Cru Classe; not ready yet.