The grand vin of Palmer is 45% Merlot, 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, and the yield was tiny this year, just 22 hl/ha. This takes just over 70% of the crop, and the élevage was in 50% new barrels for the...
The grand vin of Palmer is 45% Merlot, 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, and the yield was tiny this year, just 22 hl/ha. This takes just over 70% of the crop, and the élevage was in 50% new barrels for the first year, in foudre for the second year. The aromatics present dark, concentrated but not dried fruits, with some rose-petal freshness, tinged with little veins of smoke, dark chocolate and liquorice. This translates onto a delightful palate, immediately defined and controlled, with a sinewy and savoury substance, slowly filling out in the middle with the generosity of the vintage, all dark berries, chocolate, smoke, leather and tar, supported by a finely knapped bed of tannins which wrap up the palate in a smoky, fresh, finely grained frame, and which persist into the finish with an electric energy. A great Palmer here, with density, form and panache, giving it super potential. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%.- CK