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Château Palmer 2018

Château Palmer, Bordeaux, France

Château Palmer
Bordeaux France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 112 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 16 Pros of
    16 recommend
    this wine
621 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    92

  • Producer ranking ?

    4

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    from 2025

  • Food Pairing

    Roast Duck Breast with Dried Cherry Sauc

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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97-99 THE WINEADVOCATE: "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 ...

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The Story

Vintage after vintage, the wines of Château Palmer express our vision of an exceptional wine. We believe that it is born of the mysterious trilogy – terroir, history, memory – and all of our efforts are concentrated on bringing it into the world. Distinction, high standards and commitment are the values that guide every choice we make from the vineyard to the table where the wine is served.


Knowing
Knowing your terroir, your grapes, and ...

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Wine Information

Unprecedented. From December to July, incessant rains provoked the development of mildew. Then, during a hot, dry summer, the vines focused all their energy into the remaining grapes. Their power and concentration finally reached an exceptional level. In the winery, all of this led to an unprecedented decision: every lot would be selected for the blending of Château Palmer… Extraordinary.

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Vintage 2018

2018 Bordeaux Vintage Report and recommendations

by Andrew Caillard MW

2018 is an exceptional year. The Bordeaux whites and sauternes are very good, but from an Australian perspective the excitement is all in the red wines. All sub regions produced examples of really good wines, but some performed better than others. Generally the very top estates made exemplary wines illustrating that the human factor and wealth can have a major impact ...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

A massive beast of a wine, the 2018 Palmer checks in as a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 7% Petit Verdot that comes from mildew decimated yields of 11 hectoliters per hectare. The vineyard manager commented that he had never seen conditions so favorable for mildew during the spring, and with the estate holding fast to their biodynamic viticulture, the result was a loss of over 70% of the normal production. Unsurprisingly, with barely any grapes to go around, no Alter Ego was produced. The 2018 reveals a saturated plum/purple color as well as a dense, full-bodied style that carries loads of plum, blackberry, and currant fruits as well as notes of scorched earth and graphite. The tiny yields certainly resulted in a massive, concentrated wine (it has the highest IPT ever recorded at the domaine), yet it lacks the purity and precision as well as weightless style of both the 2015 and 2016 at this point. Regardless, it's one thrilling, singular mouthful of a Palmer that has masses of ripe tannins, terrific balance, and a blockbuster finish. It's going to require upwards of a decade of bottle age and should live for just about forever.

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  • 97p

Tiny harvest but a success as memorable as the legendary 1961, exceptional breadth and velvet texture, great length, an incredibly fresh resurgence of tannins. 97-98

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  • 97p

Ruby. Blueberries, cassis, intense, dense and tight, floral high notes, mint and tobacco leaf. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruity, dense, tobacco and cigars, detailed, minty, nuanced, layered, nuanced and long. Richer and bigger Palmer, remains velvety. 96-98

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  • 98p

Château Palmer 2018 / 100 points / Deep colour intense dark cherry, black currant fruits with mocha espresso notes. Amazingly powerful and expressive wine with deep set blackcurrant pastille fruits, richly concentrated graphite tennins. Incredible balance and mineral length. Superb density and complexity. The wine of the vintage?

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  • 100p

Vivacious and integrated already, with plum, raspberry and cassis notes matched by a bright floral hint and a flash of rooibos tea. Refined minerality through the finish. Ample depth, but it is defined by its purity and drive.

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  • 97p

Dark purple re with violet hue and almost black core. Very elegant fruit, ripe blackcurrants, raspberries and blackberries, hints of berry jam, very concentrated fruit, subtle oak in the background. On the palate sweet tannins, wonderful fruit, very elegant yet densely woven structure, excellent depth and length with great complexity. A Palmer with a lot of hidden power. 

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  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Margaux, Bordeaux

Inside Information

98-100 DECANTER: "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."

97-100 WINESPECTATOR: "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.—J.M."

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