Palmer - Margaux 2021

matthewjukes.com

18,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe8/2/2022

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. 18.5

Jamessuckling.com

96-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe6/8/2022

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.

Jeb DUNNUCK

93-95 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe6/2/2022

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Palmer checks in as 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot. The élevage here is unique in that the wine spends the first year in barrel (60% new) before having one-third moved into foudre for the following 6 months. The 2021 is an unquestionable success, revealing a dense purple hue as well as a powerful bouquet of ripe black and blue fruits supported by notes of tobacco, graphite, and chocolate. This medium to full-bodied Margaux has ripe, velvety tannins, a great mid-palate, and outstanding length. It's going to have plenty of up-front appeal yet still evolve for two decades.

Bettane & Desseauve

95 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/24/2022

Grande couleur, texture pleine et chaleureuse, beaucoup de souplesse, en retenue à ce stade quant à son intensité et à la précision de son tannin. Excellente longueur, pur jus de vieilles vignes.

The Vintage Journal

96-97 / 100

byAndrew Caillard MWthe5/17/2022

Medium-deep crimson. Perfumed dark chocolate, marzipan, roasted almond aromas with violet notes. Lovely generous dark chocolate, cassis flavours, fine chewy tannins, some chinotto, bittersweet notes and underlying roasted chestnut notes. Finishes graphite firm with inky volume. 56% merlot, 41% cabernet sauvignon, 3% petit verdot. Maturation in 50% oak barriques and 50% 30hl vats.

Alexandre Ma

94-96 / 100

byAlexandre Mathe5/16/2022

Palmer is one of the most authentic wines among the 2021 primeurs that I have tasted. The entire team has done a good job exhibiting all the characters of the vintage in plain view, presenting us with a “true, good, and beautiful” Margaux masterpiece. The acidity of Palmer is very high this year, but it is still balanced inside out. Be it the lissom mouthfeel, silky tannins, the clean fruity aromas, or the relatively smooth finish, all shouting out loud its purest, most natural winemaking philosophy. The hard work of Thomas and his entire team does pay off, even though the final average yield is a mere 22hl/ha. Palmer???2021????????????????,????????????2021?????????,????????“?????”?????????Palmer????????,??????????????????????,???????????????????,???????Palmer“???????”?????,??Thomas???????????????,???????????22hl/ha?

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96 / 100

byJeff Levethe5/16/2022

Deep ruby, garnet in color, the wine shows off its flowers, cocoa, black plum and dark cherry, with a Cuban cigar note coming in at the end of the nose with ease. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, fresh, sweet, poised and vibrant. The wine offers a lush, dark chocolate, plum, currant and coffee bean tinted mid-palate in the vibrant, lifted finish. The wine is blend of 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. 13.4% ABV, pH 3.72. Yields were low at a paltry 22 hectoliters per hectare. 55% of the harvest was placed into the Grand Vin. Picking took place September 24 - October 14. Drink from 2028-2055. 94-96

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

96 / 100

byJane Ansonthe5/13/2022

Vinous

94-96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/12/2022

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.

Vinous

94-97 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe5/11/2022

The 2021 Palmer is one of the truly epic wines of the year. It's not the 2018, but it is in that vein, albeit at 13% in alcohol. There's tremendous richness and sheer extract here. Blackberry jam, chocolate, smoke, licorice, lavender and mocha notes possess remarkable primary intensity, more like a young must than a wine with a few months of age. Readers will find a Palmer that offers a compelling mix of opulence and energy.

vvwine

95-97 / 100

byAdrian Van Velsenthe5/10/2022

56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet, 3% Petit Verdot, 13.5% Alkohol. Feiner Duft, nobel, kühl, die Frucht erinnert an schwarze Kirschen, Cassis und Blaubeeren, dazu florale Töne, Wiesenblüten, subtil kühler Rauch, steinige Noten. Im Gaumen gradlinig und straff, kein Gramm Fett, sehr gute Struktur, die Tannine sind markant, fein mit der Frucht verwoben, im Abgang zeigt der Wein eine schöne aromatische Länge und Rückaromen, die an Sauerkirschen erinnern. Ein delikater Palmer, der vermutlich schon Jung seine Anhänger findet und dennoch die Struktur hat, um gut reifen zu können. 2027-2055+ (Verkostet im April 2022. Château Palmer)

Anthocyanes

95-97 / 100

byYohan Castaingthe5/6/2022

Assemblages non réalisés. Joli nez de fruits noirs, de murier, quelques touches de bourgeon de cassis pour un bouquet mentholé aux accents de réglisse et de graphite. A l'aération, très belle trame florale. Bouche droite et tendue, une belle structure de milieu de bouche avec des tanins structurants et une légère austérité que les élevages devront gommer. Un vin dense pour le millésime et plutôt cabernet, ce qui en fait un Palmer singulier par rapport aux derniers millésimes. Le potentiel de garde important le rendra plus charmeur. Très belle bouteille en devenir. L'esprit Palmer est ici parfaitement préservé. 95-97+

Wine Advocate

95-97 / 100

byWilliam Kelleythe4/29/2022

The late-ripening, low-yielding vintage has delivered a beautifully balanced wine of striking intensity in the 2021 Palmer. Unwinding in the glass with complex aromas of blackberries, exotic spices, licorice, violets and burning embers, it's full-bodied, layered and enveloping, with a deep, concentrated core of fruit, ripe tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, expansive finish. If recent vintages of Palmer have set new records in their power and richness, the 2021 marks a return to the classical proportions of the 1990s—with all the additional concentration and precision that Thomas Douroux's pioneering viticulture and thoughtful winemaking have brought to the equation at this address in the interim. The grand vin is a blend of 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, picked between September 24 and October 15. Tasted twice.