Château Palmer
About Château Palmer
Château Palmer is a Third Growth estate located in Margaux in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Although for many decades it has been viewed as one of the best wines in the region, standing toe-to-toe to Château Margaux. Château Palmer is named after a British Major-General from the Napoleonic Wars, who bought the land in 1814. He developed it considerably and gained a strong following for the wine in England. Since 1938, the Sichel and Mähler-Besse families have been major shareholders. Since the mid-1990s they have rediscovered their former class. The appointment of Thomas Duroux in 2004 has brought them into a new golden era.
Viniculture
Once part of the d'Issan estate, the Palmer vineyards cover 55 hectares in the Cantenac commune. Mostly found on a plateau of thin gravel on the edge of the estuary, the vines are densely planted, such that to ensure competition between vines and promote deep root systems. This Margaux tends to be high in Merlot, giving a ripe perfume and plum fruit flavours.
The estate makes a second wine called Alter Ego de Palmer. Annual production is around 12,000 cases of Chateau Palmer and 7500 cases of Alter Ego.
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Bordeaux | 1 | 94 (JS) | HK$6,445.00 | |||||
James Suckling (94)This is amazing for the second wine with incredible white truffle, stone and currant character. Purity of fruit on the nose. Full-bodied, silky and refined. Fantastic length. Better in 2018 but almost impossible to resist now. Incredible. |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 94-95 (JS) | HK$5,675.00 | |||||
James Suckling (94-95)Very solid and powerful with dried mushroom and wet earth aromas and flavors. Complex. Full and chewy yet so polished and long. Spicy, meat and gorgeous. Most serious Alter Ego ever. More inner Ego now!. 52% merlot, 41% cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot 6%. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 95-96 (JS) | HK$5,200.00 | |||||
James Suckling (95-96)This is very concentrated yet soft and fresh in texture. Full-bodied and round and mouth-filling. So impressive how it fills your mouth yet remains fresh. It’s so framed. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 95 (DC) | HK$3,865.00 | |||||
Decanter (95)Gorgeous rich dark purple in the glass. Quite jammy and concentrated on the nose, heady and perfumed with a lovely delicate florality to it too. Great freshness on the palate, juicy but a dark blackcurrant and cherry fruit juice. Beautifully balanced with integrated tannins and oak. Well defined fruit, generous and quite abundant against softly grippy, velvety tannins that just give support to the overall frame. It's serious but with a lightness of touch and playfulness - energetic and lively but still with depth. A great Alter Ego and confident winemaking on show. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 17+ (JR) | HK$3,480.00 | |||||
Jancis Robinson (17+)50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Cask sample. Very much in the Alter Ego mould – lively, fruit-driven with that vineyard-fresh feel but with a little more structure than previous years. Pure and appetising but will age. (JL) 13.7% |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 94-95 (JS) | HK$3,290.00 | |||||
James Suckling (94-95)Savory black and salted-olive character with oyster shells and black licorice. Fine, almost powdery yet firm tannins. Medium body. Excellent density and structure for the vintage. Second wine of Palmer. 60% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot and 8% petit verdot. From biodynamically grown grapes. |
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Alter Ego de Palmer
(6x75cl)
2023
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Bordeaux | - | - |
HK$3,166 - HK$3,760 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 89 (WS) | HK$12,625.00 | |||||
Wine Spectator (89)Exuberant aromas of new wood, chocolate and tobacco. Medium- to full-bodied, yet wonderfully refined with cedar, tobacco, cherry and berry flavors. Really a joy to taste. Drink or hold. 14,000 cases made. -JS |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (WS) | HK$17,345.00 | |||||
Wine Spectator (100)Opulent and flamboyant are the two words that come to mind with this wine. Aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate and toasted oak follow through to a full-bodied palate, with big, chewy tannins (yet they are refined and silky) and a long, long finish. This is a full-throttle Palmer. Superripe and delicious. Score range: 95-100 |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 98 (DC) | HK$15,900.00 | |||||
Decanter (98)One of the great years of Bordeaux now at 10 years old and showing why this is such an unusual vintage in terms of the depth of structure and muscular concentration that was achieved. In fact, I am upping the drinking window from the last time I tasted this, as there is such a pulse of life and grip that shows no signs of going anywhere. The initial layers are starting to be peeled back, but this retains primary black and blue fruits that are still full of flesh alongside baked earth, tons of liquorice and black chocolate with a grippy tannic structure, fresh acidities and a serious attitude. Brilliant stuff, that is clearly going to power on for decades. Harvest September 22 to October 20. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 97 (JS) | HK$15,280.00 | |||||
James Suckling (97)This is mind-blowing with complex and superb aromas of dried flowers, blackcurrants and raspberries. Full-bodied, yet polished and velvety with lots of tension and intensity. Layers of fruit and character. Finishes with pure fruit, hazelnuts and minerals. About 20 hectares of 55 hectares were from biodynamically grown grapes. Try in 2022. Stunning. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (JS) | HK$14,525.00 | |||||
James Suckling (100)I am breathless with the dark-berry, lavender and burnt-orange aromas. Some salt. Just so formidable and deep. Stunningly sexy on the palate with a density and power, yet it leaves things so clean and bright. You want to drink it and enjoy it now, but it has the structure to last forever. Drink in 2022. |
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Bordeaux | 2 | 100 (JA) | HK$16,940.00 | |||||
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)Just hover your nose over the glass to get excited about this wine. Inky purple in colour, cigar box, tobacco bud, pencil lead, tight cassis and bilberry fruit. Where the 2015 is generous, the 2016 is tighter, less expressive at the five year mark, but with layers and potential to fire up an entire room. Has the structure and the chiselled fruit that signposts great Bordeaux in an exceptional vintage, with the nuanced whisper of violet and peony that takes you to the Margaux appellation. Powerful and muscular, still austere but the morieish juice on the finish tells you how much this has to give over the next few decades. Harvest October 3 to 18. Gets better every time you go back to it. 60% new oak. |
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Bordeaux | 31 | 97+ (WA) | HK$11,080.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (97+)A blend of 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored, 2017 Palmer gives a very serious nose of pronounced blackcurrant cordial, warm plums and blackberry preserves with hints of cedar chest, pencil shavings, violets, dark chocolate and star anise plus exotic wafts of sandalwood and cassia. Medium-bodied, the palate features fantastically vibrant, crunchy black fruits with a firm texture of ripe, grainy tannins and tons of freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. It will need a good 5-7 years to really blossom with all those tightly wound nuances, but it should be a stunner! |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 100 (JA) | HK$14,700.00 | |||||
Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux (100)A memorable vintage for both good and bad reasons, with yields that dropped down to 11h/h after mildew, but with a concentration and precision that is remarkable. This truly is a briliant wine. There are hints of dried fruit character, wrapped in the complexity of a wine stacked with cigar box, ripe berry fruit, dark chocolate, marmalade zest, turmeric and black pepper spice, layer upon layer, all served up with fresh acidites that make it moreish at the same time. Unusual, and beautiful. Harvest September 13 to October 15, 60% new oak. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 99 (WI) | HK$11,240.00 | |||||
The Wine Independent (99)The Palmer 2019 is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs considerable shaking to unlock notions of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, and crème de cassis, leading to wafts of rose oil and espresso. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with rich, seductive black and blue fruit, supported by heart-thumping tension and very fine tannins, finishing with epic length and jaw-dropping fragrance. Stunning! |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 97-99 (WE) | HK$12,925.00 | |||||
Wine Enthusiast (97-99)97–99. Barrel Sample. This wine's floral perfume is matched by generous tannins that surprise by their strength. The fruit flavors offer a mix of black and red berries. They are finely structured and concentrated, balanced by tightly woven acidity. Made from organic and biodynamic grapes. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 96-97 (JS) |
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James Suckling (96-97)There’s brightness and clarity to this young wine, with blackcurrants, violets, lavender and blackberries. Medium body with a sold core of fruit and a long, fresh finish. Fine tannins. Bright acidity. 56% merlot, 3% petit verdot and 41% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes. |
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Bordeaux | 1 | 98-99 (JS) | HK$17,235.00 | |||||
James Suckling (98-99)So much class in the nose with a sophisticated kaleidoscope of dark fruit such as blackcurrants, and spices such as salt and pepper, as well as cloves and nutmeg. Full-bodied. Compacted and dense yet weightless. It opens beautifully. The tannins go on and on with wonderful presence. Salty undertones. |
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Palmer
(6x75cl)
2023
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Bordeaux | - | - |
HK$14,083 - HK$16,724 |
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