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Palmer 2016 1200cl

3eme Grand Cru Classé | Margaux | Bordeaux | France
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Critics scores
98 Robert Parker
The 2016 Palmer is a blend of 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. Opaque garnet-purple colored, it slowly glides out of the glass with compelling notes of blueberry compote, warm cassis and kirsch with emerging hints of violets, cigar box, black tea, sandalwood and Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, wonderfully rich, concentrated and packed with latent energy, the palate literally grows in the mouth, revealing layer upon layer of black, blue and red fruits and tons of floral sparks, framed by super ripe, incredibly fine-grained tannins and finishing with epic length. It’s a wine that makes you wanna drape yourself languidly over a chaise lounge, glass of Palmer in hand, sighing with deep satisfaction, “This is so wonderfully Palmer.”<br/>“We had 2009 and 2010, we’ll have 2015 and 2016,” Palmer’s CEO Thomas Duroux told me, alluding to the comparisons being made throughout Bordeaux to the last great pair of vintages. “But of course,” he added, “they are two very different expressions.” There was some mildew pressure at Palmer in 2016, which is a larger problem at organic/biodynamically managed estates such as this. Subsequently, the crop was a relatively modest 29 hectoliters per hectare, down from an average of say 35 hectoliters per hectare. “It was a milder summer, not too much heat,” Duroux further observed. “So there was not too much alcohol this year and nothing jammy.”
98 James Suckling
Such attractive fruit and alluring ripeness that it draws you in from the get-go. The discreet power here is delivered with a very astute touch. Assorted dark-berry aromas, as well as red plums, abound on the nose. The richness and depth in the mouth is stunning. The tannins are super polished and layered and they draw pristine dark fruit flavors deep into the finish in effortless mode. This is a star of the vintage. A blend of 47 per cent merlot, 47 per cent cabernet sauvignon and six per cent petit verdot. Try from 2024.
Producer
Château Palmer

Among the mythic wines of the Margaux Appellation, Château Palmer has always stood apart, as instantly recognisable for its midnight blue label as for its inimitable bouquet, an uncommon blend of power and delicacy. It’s a strength of character drawn from a fabled terroir, and from an ensemble of vibrant personalities who have forged the estate’s identity through history. Emerging in the 17th century, the estate only became Château Palmer in 1814, when it was acquired by Charles Palmer, a dashing British Major General who instilled his namesake with enough éclat and glamour to see it become renowned throughout London’s aristocratic circles. In 1853, the Pereire brothers, among the preeminent financiers of Napoleon III’s France, brought the rigour and vision needed for Château Palmer to be ranked among the most prestigious classified growths of the 1855 classification. In 1938, a consortium of four leading families in the Bordeaux wine trade acquired the estate, heralding an era of momentous vintages and deep-rooted stability – indeed, Palmer is still owned by the descendants of two of these families:Mähler-Besse and Sichel.