Château Palmer

5/22/2017 Wein Wisser WEIN WISSER : 20 / 20 47 % Merlot, 47 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 % Petit Verdot, (nur) 29 hl/ha, Lese vom 3. bis 18. Oktober, 65 % Grand Vin. Tiefes Purpur mit Granatschimmer am Rand. Konzentriertes, schwarzbeeriges Bouquet mit Brombeere und Cassis, dahinter Veilchen und Iris. Am Gaumen mit cremiger Textur und anschmiegsamen Tanninen, viel Cassisdrops und Heidelbeermark im Rückaroma, was für eine Eleganz und Finesse! Im katapultartigen Finale wiederum Heidelbeeren, Schattenmorellensaft und Lakritze. Finesse pur! Thomas bevorzugt diesen Stil und ich kann ihm da nur beipflichten, daher ist dieser Palmer im Klassikstil auch mein Favorit in der Appellation Margaux! 5/10/2017 Wein Wisser WEIN WISSER (RENÉ GABRIEL) : 20 / 20 5/3/2017 Bettane & Desseauve BETTANE & DESSEAUVE ( BETTANE & DESSEAUVE) : 98-99 / 100 La réduction involontaire des rendements (29 hl/ha) liée au passage en bio et à un traitement manqué a concentré la matière à un niveau unique en Médoc. Artistiquement vinifié, cela donne un velouté de texture et une intégration de tannin magiques. Une merveille. Et une très haute expression du merlot, pour une petite moitié de l’encépagement. 5/2/2017 Martin WINE ADVOCATE (NEAL MARTIN) : 95-97 / 100 The 2016 Palmer is a blend of 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot cropped at 29 hectoliters per hectare between 3 and 18 October. Matured in 65% new oak (my sample coming from a used barrel), the bouquet is perhaps not quite as intense as some of its peers and takes time to click into fifth gear. Eventually it offers tightly wound blackberry, briary and mineral scents; it is very focused, but maybe less extrovert and more classic in style compared to recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry, quite firm in the mouth with slightly tarry black fruit, hints of black truffle developing towards the finish that feels masculine and linear. It has very impressive length, completing what is an intellectual Palmer, one that I suspect will really blossom in bottle. 4/27/2017 The Wine Cellar Insider THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER (JEFF LEVE) : 97-98 / 100 A richly-colored, attention-seeker whose nose pops with truffle, tobacco, black cherries, cigar box, plum and cocoa. Silky, velour textures and polished tannins embrace juicy, sweet, fresh, pure plums and a finish that builds as it lingers. This sublime wine was produced from a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, reaching 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.85. Currently being aged in 65% new, French oak barrels, the wine represents 50% of the harvest, which took place between October 3 and October 18. This is the third vintage that was farmed using 100% biodynamic farming techniques, allowing Palmer to become fully certified. 4/26/2017 Vinous VINOUS (ANTONIO GALLONI) : 95-98 / 100 Sophisticated and polished from the outset, the 2016 Palmer is utterly captivating. Dark shades of fruit, accented by hints of smoke, leather and discreet French oak open up in the glass, but it is the wine'e effortless, gracious personality that stands out most. The 2016 literally hovers on the palate with exquisite grace. I can't wait to see how it ages. 4/25/2017 Jukes MATTHEWJUKES.COM (MATTHEW JUKES) : 19 / 20 (47 Cabernet Sauvignon, 47 Merlot, 6 Petit Verdot) | 65% new oak | 13.1% alc. | 29 hl/ha. | 78 IPT | 65% of production went into this wine. Winemaker Thomas Duroux explained that 2016 could have been disastrous. The pressure on a biodynamic vineyard, with the amount of rain that fell in the first half of the season was, near-catastrophic. The Palmer team worked their socks off and as we all now know, the rain stopped at just the right time and what followed was a remarkable growing season, refreshed by the famous rains on the 13th September, and remembered as the latest harvest on record - between the 3rd and 18th October. The Grand Vin is a terroir selection mostly and in 2016 is one of the most captivating and joyous wines of the vintage. Very shy and very complex and it is impossibly long and it unravels brilliantly and incrementally on the palate. This is a masterpiece because it is the epitome of restraint and composure. With superb tannins and serious finesse this is a wine which has risen from great terroir in the most trying of conditions to confound and delight the drinker. 19+ 4/24/2017 Decanter.com DECANTER.COM (JANE ANSON) : 98 / 100 The grand vin represents 65% of production in 2016, the highest ever. It has many similarities in style with the 2001 and 1986, being a classically styled wine full of soft slate, fern, liquorice and cassis, but from the modern era where you can achieve so much more precision. This is a wine that makes you smile from the first sip, and keeps on getting better, caressing you gently across the palate. There is never any let up through the mid-palate, and the biodynamics that have been practised here for the past few years are clearly paying off. Elegant, utterly silky and precise, the structure is just effortless with reasonably fresh alcohols that are the result of late ripening. A perfect example of the appellation, it has the florality, density and slow tannic pace that means it takes you right along with it as the flavours build. The blend is 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. Intellectual without being overbearing, and built to age. This is impressive stuff. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050 4/20/2017 Robinson JANCIS ROBINSON (JANCIS ROBINSON) : 17,5 / 20 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot. No sulphur dioxide until after MLF. Very dark, velvety look - really bright. Complex and energetic. Not simple and sweet but quite a step change. Feels a little transitional because it's so different and more energetic than the old style. 65% new oak, as always, but the wine can absorb it better. Some bitter chocolate. Lots of sweetness. Energy and freshness. 17.5+ 4/19/2017 Wine Enthusiast WINE ENTHUSIAST (ROGER VOSS) : 98-100 / 100 Barrel Sample. Potentially an 100-point wine, this is beautifully ripe and rich, with sweet tannins as well as opulent black fruit tones. A higher than usual proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend gives the wine its density, sophistication and great sense of presence. 4/5/2017 Jamessuckling.com JAMESSUCKLING.COM (JAMES SUCKLING) : 99-100 / 100 I wrote that the 2015 was incredible, and this 2016 is again. It's equally structured and powerful as the 2015, yet there's an underlying intellectual serenity to this wine. You taste it, and you want to know and experience it even more. Full and tannic yet ever so polished and beautiful. Mesmerizing. Made from biodynamically grown grapes.