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Wine Description
The Story
Palmer and its Alter Ego are two nuanced expressions of the Château Palmer terroir, two interpretations of the variations offered by the climatic conditions of the vintage. These variations can be likened, in music, to symphonic pieces and their jazz adaptations, in the visual arts, to a classic painting and a contemporary rendering of the same subject, and, in literature, to an epic narrative in alexandrine verse and a prose poem.
Alter Ego was born with the 1998 vintage. It resulted from a new approach to selecting and blending devised to interpret the Château Palmer terroir differently without departing from the values that make the reputation of our wines – namely, finesse and elegance, aromatic richness, harmony and length.
Offering intense, crispy and juicy fruits, Alter Ego is a spontaneous uninhibited wine, soft and round as soon as it has finished barrel ageing. Its lush aromas and supple tannins make it a wine that can be appreciated in the first years after bottling.
At the end of the summer, the slowly maturing berries are regularly tasted to evaluate their potential. We pay attention to the taste of the grape, the thickness of the skin, and the resistance of the seed. By this time we already have a sense of what the wines will be like. We are looking for lush grapes for Alter Ego that will release the aromas of fresh fruit. Harvesting and vinification decisions are made based on the idea that we have of the Château Palmer and Alter Ego style. Final blend tastings usually come to confirm our intuitions. The batches chosen for Alter Ego are then blended and put into barrels to age for 18 months. The fruitiness and aromatic intensity are preserved by the use of a moderate percentage of new oak barrels (25 to 40%).
Wine Information
Characteristics of the vintage
This extraordinary vintage was characterised by several periods of very hot weather, with temperatures reaching 40°C and higher in June, July, and August. Such long-lasting, extremely hot weather broke records going back 150 years. Although the overall level of rainfall was low, and this dryness accentuated the effects of the heat, 2003 will be remembered above all for its tropical summer temperatures.
This resulted in a low yield of small grapes with thick skins.
The 2003 harvest was the earliest in 60 years, with the exception of 1989. The harvest started with Merlot grapes on 8th September, followed by Cabernet on the 16th, and finished with Petit Verdot on the 20th. Fermentation was conducted with the greatest of care because of the high degree of ripeness and sugar levels in the Merlot grapes.
Relatively short maceration (17 days) made it possible to retain the wines' freshness and balance. They were full of charm, with good body and very ripe fruit from the very beginning.
Despite the heat wave, the 2003 wines of Château Palmer reflect their prestigious terroir and will undoubtedly reveal the exceptional quality of this vintage over time.
Harvest dates: from 09/08/2003 to 09/20/2003
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon: 53%
Merlot: 47%
Ageing potential
2015. To drink now.
Tasting
Held up to the light, the wine presents a deep ruby color.
Immediately seductive, the bouquet offers a selection of jammy red and black fruits (red currents, plums, macerated cherries, raspberries and blackberries) a few floral notes (violets, peony), mild spices (vanilla, cinnamon), herbaceous (bracken, mint) and subtly smoked aromas.
The attack seduces with mellowed fruit. Following closely are supremely soft tannins and the Growth’s unmistakable freshness. The generous sunshine from this vintage shines through in the wine. Yet it retains its characteristic elegance and finesse. The finish shows these delicious flavors, light and refreshing.
Ready to drink, an extremely pleasing and consensual wine, this 2003 will be best enjoyed, at 15 degrees, until 2015.
Press Review
La Revue du Vin de France, Roberto Petronio & Antoine Gerbelle, 11/01/2006
« Un fruit franc, généreux et expressif domine le nez. La bouche s'impose par une matière charnue. L'élégance de Margaux est bien là. S'il se déguste bien aujourd'hui, il a encore de la réserve. Il manque cependant cette allonge en fin de bouche que l'on retrouve de manière plus affirmée dans le grand vin. »
Weinwisser, René Gabriel, 04/01/2006
« Tiefes Rubin-Granat. Wunderschön erdiges Waldbeerenbouquet, Tabaknoten darin zeigend. Im Gaumen recht gefällig, angenehme Tannine, sanft trocken, etwas mehr Muskeln wie Fleisch zeigend. Ether ein Esswein. »
La Revue du Vin de France, 09/01/2005
« Robe pourpre rubis soutenu, nez puissant et fumé, avec un joli fruit et une belle minéralité, intense et très mûr; bouche tendre, flatteuse, élégante, trame soyeuse et finale fraîche très harmonieuse. »
www.degustation.de, Mario Scheuermann, 09/01/2005
« Dunkles, frisches rubinrot. Nase mit eimner starken Würze, sehr typisch für den Jahrgang 2003, etwas überwürzt, etwas konfitiert, konzentrierte rote Früchte. Etwas Pflaumenchutney, Borke und exotische Gewürznoten. Der Wein hat die typisch cremige und dickflüssige Art der 2003er, extrakt und eiweissreich. Die Süsse überdeckt für den Augenblick die anderen Komponenten wie Tannine und Säure fast völlig. Die sind aber vorhanden, zeigen sich z.B. mit leichten Bitternoten im Abgang und geben dem Wein sein Gerüst unter der weichen Oberfläche. Der Wein hat sich seit der primeurverkostung sehr vorteilhaft entwickelt.
»
Gault & Millau, 07/01/2004
« Le joli moelleux d'Alter Ego est dans le style traditionnel de Palmer, alors que Palmer n'y est pas, mais avec un peu moins de longueur et une accessibilité plus rapide. »
Carnets de dégustation, Jean-Marc Quarin, 04/01/2004
« Vin très charmeur et aussi puissant en arômes qu'un vin blanc sec. Constitué avec un peu plus de cabernet sauvignon que d'habitude (53%), il s'achève sur une bonne dinale au goût mûr. »
Châteauonline, JM Deluc Sommelier, 04/01/2004
« Couleur violine veloutée. Au nez, le vin présente une belle finesse sur
des notes de cassis, de menthe, de cardamome, de toasté, de guigne et de
rose. Un nez fait pour séduire. En bouche, le vin est plus pointu,
encore marqué par les tanins. Mais la structure est fraîche et élégante.
Un vin à garder 10 ans maximum pour profiter du fruit ! »
Decanter, Steven Spurrier, 04/01/2004
« Deep ruby, lovely Merlot nose, fragrant and smooth and beautifully integrated tannins, elegance and balance. »
Decanter, Steven Spurrier, 04/01/2004
« Lovely Merlot nose, fragrant and smooth with beautifully integrated tannins, elegant. »
Falstaff, Peter Moser, 04/01/2004
« Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, breitere Randaufhellung, in der Nase nach Kokos, intensive Kirschenmarmelade, exotische Hölzer, am Gaumen frisch, etwas weitmaschig, deutlich vom Merlot geprägt, elegant, frisch, mit zarter Schokonote im Abgang. »
Gault & Millau, Bernard Burtschy, 04/01/2004
« Joli moelleux, dans le style de Palmer, avec un peu moins de longueur. »
Ultimate Wine, Marco Correia, 04/01/2004
« Sexy cocktail of liquorice, cassis, tobacco and black berries. The attack on the palate is silky and balanced. Medium-bodied with a long, long aftertaste. Well done. »
Vinifera, Jacques Perrin, 04/01/2004
« Belle robe grenat. Le nez exhale des notes de prune et des notes florales et épicées d'une grande distinction. Attaque ronde, tendre. Légère perte de saveur à l'évolution mais il se reprend dès le milieu de bouche et affiche une pulpe chatoyante agrémentée de notes florales très fines. »
Vino Magazine, Louis Havaux, 04/01/2004
« Robe intense. Nez: fruit rouges, figues et réglisse. Attaque: tanins fondus, gras, fraîcheur, finale ferme et légèrement tannique. »
Weinwirtschaft, Harald Ecker, 04/01/2004
« Zartes, frisches, blumiges Bukett (auch Minze); konsentriert, Süssholz; unterlegte, dichte Tannine mit zartherbem, frischem, langem Abgang; Mund bleibt stets frisch »
Weinwisser, René Gabriel, 04/01/2004
« Mittleres Granat-Rubin, feiner Rand aussen. Herrliche Fruchtexpression, viel Damassinepflaumen, Fliedernoten, sehr reintönig und erfrischend. Saftiger Gaumen, pfaumige Töne, dezente Malznote, weich und samtig, wird aufgrund der Säurekonstellation früb schon viel Freude machen, im Finale rosinierende Töne von deutlich überreifem Traubengut. Ein Gevrey-Chambertin aus Margaux »
Wine International, Charles Metcalfe, 04/01/2004
« This is a very successful marriage between dense, tannic structure and ripe plummy fruit. And it still has a delightful freshness to it. It's the Elvas preserved plum sweetness that is the most typical aspect. Big, straightforward and accessible. »
Registry of Wine Collectors, Alan Duran, 03/01/2004
« A full-bodied wine for Alter Ego de Palmer, exhibiting opulence, sweet fruit, and a textured finish. With chewy tannins, it is charming and will be appreciated by many. »
Vintage 2003
2003 was the hottest vintage ever seen in Bordeaux. The most successful châteaux have passed their exceptional 2000s and some claim to have made their greatest wines in living memory.
Very dry and extremely hot summer days and nights (16 days > 95°F compared to 2 in 2000, 6 in 2005, 4 in 2009). Need to eliminate the superscript here. I can't figure out how to do it.) The deeply colored reds, low acidities and high tannins are a departure from the classic Left Bank profile. St.-Estèphe and Pauillac are the most successful. The reds have largely reached their peak. It remains a controversial vintage, with opinions sharply divided as to its intrinsic quality. The white grape harvest began in mid-August. Rich, fatty whites, some acidified, not for long storage.
The extreme summer heat presented winemakers with a significant challenge. Sugar levels increased dramatically in late summer as some growers took the plunge and harvested early to preserve acidity. However, winemakers who waited until their grapes were fully ripe were rewarded with rich, concentrated, dark-colored wines displaying astonishing depth of fruit and plenty of complexity.
Generally speaking, the great wines of 2003 come from the northernmost communes of the Médoc: and in particular from Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe. Highlights include Lafite, Latour, Pichon Baron, Montrose and Cos d’Estournel. Quality was more uneven in the south of the Médoc although Château Margaux, true to form, produced one of the wines of the vintage.
The right bank properties of St Emilion and Pomerol, where temperatures were even warmer, produced inconsistent wines and volumes were massively reduced. Vieux Château Certan, which usually produces 4,000 cases per year, only produced 800 last year. Estates that have resisted this model and produced exceptional wines include Figeac, Ausone, Fetyit Clinet and Angelus.
Graves and Pessac-Lèognan fared better, but many châteaux produced wines that were alcoholic and expansive, but lacked the fresh, linear fruit core that distinguished the best of 2003. The exceptions are Haut-Bailly, the powerful and concentrated Domaine de Chevalier, and of course the thoroughbred stable of wines from Haut-Brion and La Misson Haut-Brion.
