2018 Chateau Palmer, 3rd Growth Margaux (6 x Bottle)
A year that has already passed into Palmer legend. An extremely stressful growing season, where mildew brought the yield right down to 11hl/h, and no Alter Ego was produced. What the team produced with the rest is therefore even more extraordinary. No question that this is concentrated and muscular, and needs time in bottle, but even at this early stage the richness and depth of display is clear. Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, cassis and damson fruits studded with chocolate shavings, grilled cedar, slate and gunsmoke, all delivered with precision and laser impact. The violet and peony florals are Palmer are there, but they just give a hint of themselves right now, highlighting the depths that are to come with this wine over time. A standout success. 79% new oak. Bottled July 2020, after one year in barrel, second year in larger sized Stockinger barrels for 20% of the crop to soften oak influence.
2018 Chateau Palmer, 3rd Growth Margaux (6 x Bottle)
A year that has already passed into Palmer legend. An extremely stressful growing season, where mildew brought the yield right down to 11hl/h, and no Alter Ego was produced. What the team produced with the rest is therefore even more extraordinary. No question that this is concentrated and muscular, and needs time in bottle, but even at this early stage the richness and depth of display is clear. Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, cassis and damson fruits studded with chocolate shavings, grilled cedar, slate and gunsmoke, all delivered with precision and laser impact. The violet and peony florals are Palmer are there, but they just give a hint of themselves right now, highlighting the depths that are to come with this wine over time. A standout success. 79% new oak. Bottled July 2020, after one year in barrel, second year in larger sized Stockinger barrels for 20% of the crop to soften oak influence.
| Producer | Chateau Palmer |
|---|---|
| Sub-Region | Margaux |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Country | France |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Colour | Red |
| ABV | 13.00% |
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Inside Bordeaux
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.
100 Points / Drinking 2028 - 2046
By Jane Anson / December 2021
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
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!
97-99 Points
By Lisa Perrotti-Brown / April 2019
Vinous
The 2018 Palmer is a freak of nature from yields of just 11 hectoliters per hectare harvested over an entire month by CEO Thomas Duroux and his team. Rich, unctuous and flamboyant in its ripeness, the 2018 possesses off the charts intensity from start to finish. Blackberry jam, espresso, crème de cassis, licorice, menthol, lavender and cloves develop in a palate-staining, hedonistic Palmer that oozes with personality. This extravagantly ripe Margaux won’t be for everyone, but it is a stunning, head-spinning wine that may, in time, very well join the ranks of the truly epic Palmers. A wine of pure and total pleasure, the 2018 is nearly impossible to resist. The blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. In 2018, Palmer bottled just their Grand Vin and no Alter Ego.
95-98 Points
By Antonio Galloni / April 2019
Vinous
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.
100 Points / Drinking 2033 - 2068
By Antonio Galloni / March 2021
Vinous
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.
94-96 Points / Drinking 2028 - 2065
By Neal Martin / November 2019
Vinous
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.
100 Points / Drinking 2030 - 2070
By Neal Martin / March 2021