1999 Palmer

The 1999 is the greatest Palmer made since 1961, 1966, 1970, 1983, and 1989. It is one of the superstars of the vintage. The wine is a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. It boasts a staggering bouquet of violets and other spring flowers intermixed with licorice, black currants, and subtle wood. Only 50% of the production made it into the grand vin. This is a multidimensional, compelling effort with both power and elegance, it offers sweet tannin along with flavors that caress the palate, and a 45-second finish. This is terrific stuff! Anticipated maturity: 2004-2025. Wine Advocate.April, 2002

Though I have tasted many vintages of Palmer in recent months, it has been some time since I tasted the 1999 Palmer. Now at 17 years of age, it has a really quite splendid bouquet that is so fresh and vital, pure brambly red fruit, sloes and iodine. It has certainly lost some of the headiness that it showed over its first 10 years, but it is still a Palmer that likes to party. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is good depth here, clean and fresh with wonderful poise. This is a "correct" Palmer, self-aware that it was not born in a propitious vintage, therefore it might seem a little restrained, even conservative in character. That would ignore its precision and grace, the manner in which it gently builds to the finish. You can drink this now but I would be inclined to give it another 3-4 years. There are few better Left Bank 1999s than Palmer. Tasted September 2016. Oct 2016, www.robertparker.com