Winemaker Notes
Château Palmer has always transcended fashions and trends to instead tap into a single voice: its terroir. The finesse and elegance of its Margaux roots, the softness and sophistication of its texture, the nobility of leather and the gentle caress of velvet. An almost identical blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, rounded off with a touch of Petit Verdot, forge the Palmer style. The aromas offer an immersion in a bouquet of flowers, fruit, and spices, enveloped in a fleshy, generous structure.
Blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Sensational aromatics of ripe black cherries, blueberries, chocolate, roasted herbs, graphite, and violets emerge from the 2023 Château Palmer, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot that spent 12 months in 60% new French oak followed by 12 months in foudre. It's deep, rich, and full-bodied on the palate, with flawless balance, ripe, polished tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It brings another level of brilliance, elegance, and finesse yet is deep, rich, and incredibly pure. It's one of the wines of the vintage and is distinctly Palmer! Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 30 years or more. There are roughly 11,500 cases produced. Drink 2030-2060.
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Vinous
A breathtaking wine, the 2023 Palmer is sensational. Inky, rich and explosive, the 2023 is a real head-turner. Readers will find an extroverted, dense Palmer that is immediately captivating. Here, too, the balance is mind-blowing. Ample and resonant, the 2023 is striking in its beauty. Waves of layered fruit rush out first, building through to the back end with stunning aromatic intensity. There is no other wine like Palmer in Bordeaux. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of a great Pomerol, as heretical as that might sound! If I could pick only one wine to own from the 2023 vintage, Palmer might very well be it. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 98-100 -
James Suckling
This is so perfumed, with aromas of dried flowers, sandalwood, black currants and blueberries. Medium- to full-bodied with tannins that melt into the wine and a beautiful texture that caresses every inch of the palate. Seductive and polished, with ripe fruit and citrus acidity. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 46% merlot and 4% petite verdot.
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Decanter
What a Palmer in 2023! Crazy aromatics, full and bright, packed with intense scents of pink and purple flowers, damson fruit - clearly ripe no doubt, but no overt heat with some graphite and liquorice on the nose too and the dried herb Cabernet notes. Rich, layered and voluptuous, one you could use the word opulent to describe, full of flavour and really fruit forward. Not as overtly juicy as some, more harmonious and balanced, the tannins are perfectly integrated with the fruit and acidity with the added plushness that the Merlot gives to the blend. Powered and structured, but less serious than some with great energy, generosity and charm on show in terms of texture but it’s focussed too with a long length. Something very captivating about this. Lots of cool classicism on the finish with a salty, mineral, oyster shell undercurrent. 55% new oak for the first year in barrel then one year in 30hl foudre. 3.75pH. 13% press. 32hl/ha yield.
Barrel Sample: 98 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Director Thomas Duroux and his team elected to harvest late in pursuit of full maturity, beginning with the Merlot on September 11 and finishing the Cabernet Sauvignon on October 5 to produce a beautiful 2023 Palmer, redolent of cherries, wild berries, rose petals and violets. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, it's medium to full-bodied, plush and enveloping, with a cool core of fruit, succulent acids, ultra-refined tannins and a seamless, complete profile.
Barrel Sample: 96-97 -
Wine Enthusiast
A black- coffee aroma gives a wine that is full of rich tannins. It has weight and structure that gives immense promise for a wine that should age well. It is dense, with a high proportion of Merlot as usual, with a fine juicy character.
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Wine Spectator
This is youthfully compact, with a winey core of black cherry, blackberry and boysenberry preserves that rides along the juicy and nicely inlaid acidity, while dried violet, rose hip, sandalwood and black tea notes weave around. Shows a rather serious tug of iron at the end, adding grip and depth that sets this apart from the pack. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.