Palmer - Margaux 2018

Vinous

100 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe3/31/2021

The 2018 Palmer is even more impressive from bottle than it was from barrel, and that is saying something. Rich, exotic and beautifully layered, Palmer is a real head-turner in 2018. Inky dark fruit, chocolate, licorice, espresso and sweet floral notes build over time, but it is the wine's stunning depth and textural voluptuousness that elevate it into the realm of the truly sublime. As I wrote in my initial review, the 2018 Palmer is a freak of nature from yields of just 11 hectoliters per hectare harvested over an entire month. Mildew was especially punishing. There is no Alter Ego, just the Grand Vin. Kudos to CEO Thomas Duroux and his team for what I can only describe as a truly magical wine.

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/31/2021

The 2018 Palmer is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. The wine has a 3.83 pH and 14.3% alcohol. Very deep garnet-purple in color, it explodes from the glass with atomic scents of blackberry preserves, crème de cassis and blueberry pie, plus suggestions of red roses, clove oil, dark chocolate and cedar chest with hints of Chinese five spice and menthol. The full-bodied palate is decadently styled, offering layer upon layer of black fruit preserves and exotic spices, framed by exquisitely plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing wonderfully fragrant and with epic length. It's an amazingly beautiful beast of a wine—one for the hedonists!

Jeb DUNNUCK

99 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/16/2021

While there's not much to go around, the 2018 Château Palmer is unquestionably a stunning bottle of wine. I certainly can't think of another Palmer coming close to this level of concentration (maybe the 2010 comes closest?). This blockbuster boasts a dense purple hue as well as a primordial bouquet of black cherries, mulberries, and blackberries intermixed with freshly crushed rocks, smoke tobacco, gravelly earth, lead pencil shavings, and burning embers. With full-bodied richness, a dense, stacked mid-palate, mouthcoating tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish, it's going to need 10-15 years to hit maturity, and as I wrote last year, will live for just about forever.

The Wine Cellar Insider

100 / 100

byJeff Levethe3/16/2021

Inky dark in color, the wine is fully opaque. On the palate you find an incredibly concentrated, fresh, vibrant, lively, opulent and refined, wine, which is a rare combination. Texturally, this is all silk and velvet hitting every nook and cranny of your taste receptors. The violet infused, earthy, deep perfume along with the layers of decadently ripe, sweet, lush fruits is impossible to resist. There is a gorgeous sense of purity that shines though on the finish making this even better. The finish with all its plum, dark cherry, cocoa and boysenberry exceeds the 60 second mark. This is a legendary vintage for Palmer. But give it time. It is easy to enjoy this in its youth, but its best days are in the future, so give it 12-15 years of age and enjoy it for at least 2 decades or more after that. Blended from 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, 14.3% ABV, .the yields were shockingly low at only 11 hectoliters per hectare -- conceding only one cluster per vine --the exact same yield Palmer experienced in 1961!

Vinous

100 / 100

byNeal Martinthe3/12/2021

The 2018 Palmer is a legend in the making. I had an inkling out of barrel, but such was its intensity that I wanted to assess it in bottle before I felt confident in saying so, because this could have gone either way. It storms from the glass with black fruit and floral scents, crushed violet and incense that knock your senses sideways while retaining brilliant delineation and focus. The palate is not quite as bold and brassy as when I tasted it from barrel, though I can vouchsafe that among over 20 vintages of Palmer that I have tasted at this stage, this is easily the most extroverted and powerful, displaying a kind of millefeuille of intense black fruit counterpoised by a razor-sharp line of acidity. This audacious Palmer was still revving its engines 48 hours after opening. There will never be another Palmer like this, sui generis. It was a massive risk. But by throwing caution to the wind, something extraordinary was born.

Wine Spectator

98 / 100

byJames Molesworththe2/1/2021

Remarkably concentrated, this nearly oozes fruit, with waves of cassis, plum reduction and warmed cherry preserves all carried by a dense yet polished and seamlessly embedded structure. A backdrop of violet, lilac and pastis adds to the enveloping feel, and yet with all that depth and concentration, this is a vibrant, pure expression, thanks in part to a riveting iron spine through the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2028 through 2040. 5,830 cases made. –JM

Falstaff

100 / 100

byPeter Moserthe1/29/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Intensive Nuancen von schwarzen Waldbeeren, ein Hauch von Lakritze und Cassis, kandierte Veilchen, aber auch rote Konfitüre, etwas Nougat und Mandarinenzesten, ungemein verführerisches Bukett, ein Hauch von Zedernholz unterlegt. Saftig, schwarze Kirschen, Brombeerkonfit, präsente, reife Tannine, die lange tragen werden, extraktsüß und anhaftend, feiner Schokotouch im Abgang, bleibt minutenlange haften, einer der Weine des Jahrgangs, hat das Zeug zum Klassiker. (2025 - 2070)

Wine Spectator

98 / 100

byJames Molesworththe1/26/2021

Remarkably concentrated, this nearly oozes fruit, with waves of cassis, plum reduction and warmed cherry preserves on full display, all carried by a dense yet polished and seamlessly embedded structure. A backdrop of violet, lilac and pastis accents add to the nearly enveloping feel, and yet with all that depth and concentration, this is a vibrant, pure expression, thanks in part to a riveting iron spine through the finish. A standout in many ways in this vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2028 through 2040. 5,830 cases made. — JM

Yvesbeck.wine

100 / 100

byYves Beckthe1/26/2021

Le bouquet de Palmer est marqué par la finesse, par une multitude de nuances qui se révèlent petit à petit. Beaucoup de complexité et de profondeur où se dessine une invitante fraîcheur fruitée. En bouche le vin se positionne d'entrée, avec une impressionnante aptitude à se poser comme force tranquille. Il a de la substance, de l'assurance et de la race grâce à une structure acide pointue bien en phase avec les tannins précis qui sont parfaitement intégrés et qui offrent une exceptionnelle puissance. Finale persistante, intense, infinie. Un très grand Palmer et une des plus grandes réussites du millésime.

Jamessuckling.com

98 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe1/26/2021

Complex nose of black cherries, blackberries, dark chocolate and floral undertones with perfume-like character. It’s full-bodied with firm tannins. Elegant on the palate with structure. Savory and balanced, complex and layered. Long finish. Really lingers. This has really evolved into a beautiful white swan after a difficult debut from barrel! Tiny production. only 11 hectoliters per hectare. Try after 2024.

Decanter.com

100 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/12/2021

Vinous

94-96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe11/15/2019

The 2018 Palmer was affected by mildew, losing two-thirds of the crop, equating to 11hl/ha – in other words, one bunch per vine. It was picked between September 13 and October 15. The intense bouquet offers multilayered black fruit laced with pressed iris, incense and even a touch of lavender. This Palmer explodes from the glass unlike any other that I have tasted over the last two decades. The palate is full-bodied, but I would not describe it as "exotic" but rather a Palmer of larger "dimension" than normal. It has a slightly chalky texture, very good structure and a fine bead of acidity keeping everything in check. The alcohol is just below 14% so there is no warmth toward the finish, but I suspect this Margaux will close down for a few years before really showing what it can do. Pretty awesome.

WeinWisser

19,5 / 20

the5/7/2019

Vinifera

98 /

byJacques Perrinthe5/1/2019

Robe profonde. Le nez est dense, complexe avec de jolies notes de fruits noirs. Grande attaque, évasée. En bouche, il offre un superbe velouté de texture et délivre beaucoup d'impressions tactiles, bien rythmées. Il monte crescendo en puissance avec un toucher incroyable et finit fondant, mûr, sur des notes de chocolat, de mûre, de myrtille.
La finale est exceptionnelle. Très beau dessin de bouche, très pur.
Tout repose sur une assise parfaitement intégrée comme une charpente bien construite avec une belle percussion. ''C'est un vin puissant et généreux, mais pas un freak '' dit Thomas Duroux.

My Bettane + Desseauve

97-98 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe4/24/2019

La Revue du Vin de France

19,5-20 / 20

the4/24/2019

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/23/2019

The color of a dark, almost opaque ruby gemstone, this is the densest vintage Palmer has ever produced. However, the wine is not heavy, it is light on its feet. Opulently styled, this is velvet instead of silk. There is more darkness in the fruit than you usually encounter here, along with a chalky minerality in the finish. The end note with its ocean of boysenberry, dark cocoa and black plum liqueur, vibrantly coats your mouth, palate, teeth and gums and stays there for over 60 seconds! The wine was made from 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. The harvest took place September 13 to October 15 and the wine reached 14.3% with a pH 3.83. Due to severe attacks of downy mildew in 2018, the yields were shockingly low at only 11 hectoliters per hectare -- conceding only one cluster per vine --the exact same yield Palmer experienced in 1961! No Alter Ego was produced in 2018. If you have the disposable income, this is one of the great vintages of Chateau Palmer.

Wine Advocate

97-99 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe4/23/2019

The 2018 Palmer is composed of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. Grapes were harvested September 13 to October 15, and the wine has a 3.83 pH and 14.3% alcohol. Very deep purple-black in color, the nose is a little reticent to begin, but with coaxing, it slowly emerges to show fragrant violets, underbrush, mossy bark and iron ore with exponentially growing notions of crème de cassis, Black Forest cake, plum preserves, hoisin, Christmas cake and red roses with wafts of dusty earth, Indian spices and cracked black pepper. Full-bodied, concentrated and downright powerful in the mouth, it has a solid structure of firm, wonderfully plush tannins and masses of fragrant accents, finishing very long and very spicy. By the time I finished tasting this, the nose had exploded in this fragrant bomb of fruit, earth and floral notions. This is one of those 2018 wines that has a beguiling brightness that comes from the many floral, spice and mineral accents among all that rich fruit. WOW!

Decanter.com

99 / 100

byJane Ansonthe4/17/2019

Possibly the most talked about estate in the vintage, with its mildew-induced 11hl/ha yields making waves all the way back at harvest time. They made it through though, and have made an exceptional wine that will clearly be discussed and enjoyed for years to come. There's no denying that the yields have had an impact - even in the colour you see a rich, velvety density with the violet edging that suggests a good pH (it's 3.83, so a touch higher than usual).

There is a stunning sweetness to the cassis and bilberry fruits, and it retains the finesse and floral aromatics of Palmer even with the concentration, complexity and depth on show here. It also has the signature of the vintage, and despite the volume of tannins it feels silky and seductive, and you wonder if it will close down at all. This certainly has a long life ahead of it. Sadly there is no Alter Ego in 2018, for the first time since it was created in 1998, with the production of the grand vin down by about 50% on a normal year. 

Harvest ran from 13 September to 15 October, and 90% of production went into the grand vin due to the low yields. No sulphur was added to the fruit until after malo, and it is aged in 70% new oak, already barely discernible. Thomas Duroux said, by the way, that if mildew pressure happened again to this extent, he would treat despite his strong commitment to biodynamics. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. 

Wine Enthusiast

97-99 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/16/2019

Dense and concentrated, this is a powerfully rich wine. It has a velvet texture that masks the tannins, which are solid, precise and impressive in structure. It is a great wine that comes from a very low-yield crop and it will age quite well.

Jamessuckling.com

94-95 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/12/2019

It is the essence of cabernet fruit with density that is so thick that it has the texture of grape puree. Full body and melted tannins that give the wine a sense of velvet. Very soft and juicy. With air, it goes to bright, crushed black currants. Tar. Fresh tannins give it energy. I have never tasted anything like this in all my 38 years as a wine critic in Bordeaux. From tiny berries of cabernet sauvignon (53 per cent), 40 per cent merlot and seven per cent petit verdot.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

98 / 100

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/8/2019

Wine Spectator

97-100 / 100

byJames Molesworththe3/28/2019

The level of glycerine sets this apart, giving the cascade of plum, currant, blackberry and black cherry fruit extra oomph, while seeming to heighten the purity at the same time. Beautiful violet, incense and juniper notes flash in the background. This is packed with iron-laced grip, but remains seamless and extremely long. I suspect this will be one of the most talked about wines of the vintage.