Bright medium red. Very ripe aromas of boysenberry, chocolate, violet and minerals. Wonderfully silky and intense, with terrific complexity to its dark berry, floral and minerals flavors. Most impressive today on the building, vibrant finish, which boasts a solid structure for at least mid-term aging. With 72 hours in the recorked bottle, this wine showed a texture of liquid velvet, with its seductive raspberry and chocolate flavors kept fresh by sound acidity. A beauty.

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Very dark and dense. Blackish purple. Quite tense for a 2009, with liquorice strings keeping it together. Lots of tar and dry finish with very serious fruit in the middle for the very long term. Much more serious than most 2009s. Very ambitious. Very ripe tannins.

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One of the all-time great Palmers (along with the 1961, 1966, 1970, 1989, 2000 and 2005), the 2009 Palmer is a blend of 52% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and a whopping 7% Petit Verdot that came in at close to 14% natural alcohol. An opaque blue/black color suggests a wine with thrilling levels of concentration and intensity, and That's exactly what a taster gets. Subtle smoke, incense and Asian spice (soy?) notes interwoven with graphite, blueberry, blackberry and cassis characteristics lead to a full-bodied, phenomenally concentrated, viscous, opulent wine with plenty of sweet tannin. This sensational Palmer reveals even more floral notes than vintages such as 2005 and 2000. It should drink well for 50 years.

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This is on another level from most in the appellation, with gorgeous layers of warm currant confiture, smoldering tobacco, licorice snap, warm paving stone and anise all framed by tarry but integrated grip. Stays sleek and well-defined through the finish. Should age beautifully.

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