2021 CHÂTEAU PALMER 3ème Cru Classé Margaux, Lea & Sandeman

CHÂTEAU PALMER

2021 3ème Cru Classé Margaux

Grapes Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Other Certified Organic
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Margaux
Classification 3ème Cru Classé
ABV 13.5%

56 Merlot, 41 Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 Petit Verdot | 60% new oak | 13.3% | 22 hl/ha Palmer builds its wines on a base of “super-old” Merlot vines that sit atop their finest terroir – gravel shot with clay - which makes this Château’s wines unique. The terroir, these vines and winemaker Thomas Duroux’s sensitive winemaking have imbued in this vintage a discreetly luxurious character with silky tannins, deft precision and a crystal-clear identity. This is another elite 2021 that could not come from anywhere else. While the complexity and refinement here are not in question, the tension and energy underpinning the lissom fruit make this such a complete wine. Very Palmer, very Margaux and very 2021 – this is a classically-shaped Palmer with a modernist twist of purity and clarity of expression. Rating: 18.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2022)


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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. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2022)

Palmer has a little more Merlot in the 1st wine blend than usual, something that is not the case for everyone this year, but reflects how unusual Palmer's Merlot on gravel really is. This is one that makes you sit up and take notice; with savoury fruits that have sinew and character, juicy raspberry, blueberry and black cherry, good persistency, helped by fresh acidities and slate texture. Clear ageing potential, acidity more present than in the past few years at Palmer, but the sense of energy and momentum is entirely in the spirit of the estate. 22hl/h yields (but 8ha were lost to frost, so the 'real' yield was 27hl/h). Harvest September 24 to October 16, with the majority in by October 11. Drinking range: 2028 - 2043 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2022)

The 2021 Palmer has a discrete bouquet that demands patience. This does not race out of the blocks, rather it unfurls with subtle graphite scents, blackberry, hints of cassis, plus some of the briny aromas that I noticed on the Alter Ego. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins that frame the cedar and graphite infused black fruit. Quite strict for a Palmer, yet fresh with a cerebral, saline finish that is almost Pauillac-like in style despite the majority from old Merlot vines that are situated on some of its finest gravel terroirs. Very long, very suave on the finish. Superb. Drinking range: 2030 - 2065 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2022)

Château Palmer

Margaux Troisième cru 1855 What is now Château Palmer was originally part of a larger Château d'Issan but was divided among heirs and came into the ownership of the Gascq family in 1748. The widow of the last of the Gascqs, in 1814, and apparently having met him on a stagecoach, sold the estate to an Englishman, General Charles Palmer, and Château de Gascq became Château Palmer. He extended the estate and built quite a reputation for his wines (especially in London) but financial difficulties forced him to sell up in 1843 and, by the time of the 1855 classification, the reputation of Château Palmer had slipped sufficiently to rate "only" 3rd Growth status - a status it has exceded for most of its subsequent history. The present château was built at the end of the 1850's. In 1938 the Société Civile de Château Palmer was formed to take ownership of the estate, with the Sichel and Mähler-Besse families as leading shareholders, a situation which persists to this day. Château Palmer sits between Margaux and Cantenac, just east of Issan. The 55ha of vines are planted to 47% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with the balance being Petit Verdot. The Grand Vin spends 21 months in wood (45% new). The second wine is Alter Ego de Château Palmer. In the best years of General Palmer's reign, the wines of Château Palmer were regarded on a par with those of Château Margaux and, indeed, during the worst years of the 1960's Palmer probably had a better reputation. Today, despite huge improvements by its neighbours, Palmer sits very squarely as the leading Margaux estate that isn't actually Château Margaux.

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