2021 Palmer
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Tasting notes
Ch. Palmer picked over a long window – from 25th September to 15th October, after the forecast rain. The crop was 30% smaller than normal, but what little they did produce is a true Grand Vin. It offers creamy, plummy fruit with a vibrant, old-school freshness. It shows the purity, crunch and moreish acidity of the vintage, yet with a concentration that is doubtless thanks to their old vines and low yields (22hl/ha, around 30% less than normal). They chaptalised half a degree to bring the wine up to 13.5%, but it’s beautifully integrated, with sufficient fruit to back up the oak (70% new), building to a smoke-scented finish. The wine is currently in barrique, but 80% will be transferred to foudre for the second year of its maturation. Blend: 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep crimson. Rich nose – overdone perhaps in view of the vintage? Sweet and rather exaggerated. Not gentle Margaux, though it has the stuffing to come right eventually. (Others admired it more than I did.) (JR)
The 2021 Château Palmer is 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. It's similarly ruby/plum-hued yet is more tight and focused, with beautiful blue fruits, violets, graphite, and spicy oak aromas and flavors. As with all the top 2021s, it has an incredible purity, polished, and refinement, with silky tannins, a flawlessly balanced mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It’s one of the few 2021s that demands 4-6 years of bottle age and will have upwards of two decades of prime drinking.
The 2021 Palmer, which is 80% matured in foudres and the second year in regular barriques, has a very intense and well-defined bouquet. I feel that this is the first vintage where Duroux's incremental increase in foudres is moderating the impact of wood on the nose, now much more discrete and terroir-driven, with pure black fruit and a touch of brine/seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite velvety in texture, with a keen line of acidity and a judicious sprinkling of cracked black pepper on the finish. This Palmer seems to ride the challenges of the growing season and comes out the other side with a very classically styled wine that has intellectual heft.
About the producer
Ch. Palmer is one of the finest producers in Bordeaux. The Margaux Third Growth is known for its significant plantings of old-vine Merlot, typically representing a large portion of the blend and responsible for the generous and supple style Ch. Palmer is known for.