Chateau Palmer 2020
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Complexity. That of a terroir, expressed in the wines of Château Palmer. Parcel by parcel, the estate’s teams must nurture it daily. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, protected and enriched by nature in all its diversity, develop notes of fruit, flowers and spice. Never exuberance – on the contrary, with each passing year, ever greater harmony, and length omnipresent. Aromatic richness, powerful tannins, and between them – velvet.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Glorious finesse, depth, density and length. An amazing wine that deserves to be a first growth. Such vivid expression of bright fruit and floral aromatics, seamless integration of the 60% new oak and a palate with racy texture that approaches perfection. The tannins need several years to settle and that time will increase the wine's complexity as it approaches its optimal drinking window – and it has many years ahead.
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Wine Enthusiast
Massively rich already with density and opulence, this powerful wine is half-and-half Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The dark tannins presage aging for many years.
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James Suckling
Great aromas of blackcurrants, black truffles, blueberries, lead pencil and hints of cedar. Full-bodied and powerful with fantastic tannin backbone giving it great length and power. Muscular. Toned. Flexing. This needs time.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2020 Château Palmer checks in as 48% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot that's aged one year in 50-60% new barrels before moving to foudre. It's another ripe, sexy, yet incredibly pure wine from this team offering loads of black and blue fruits, some iris flower, spice, iron, and obvious mineral nuances, full-bodied richness, velvety tannins, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of raspberries, cassis and cherries mingle with hints of violets, raw cocoa and hints of truffle in a perfumed bouquet. The 2020 Palmer is a full-bodied, layered and seamless wine that's deep and concentrated, with a vibrant core of beautifully pure and perfumed fruit, lively acids and ultra-refined tannins. This suave but authoritative Palmer is one of the high points of the vintage.
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Wine Spectator
Nicely packed, with a mix of black currant, plum and blackberry compote flavors at the core, all supported by bay leaf, tobacco and roasted cedar notes. Shows good energy throughout, along with a swath of freshly plowed earth and an underlying hint of cast iron on the finish, providing range and character. Just misses the tension and drive to be classic. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
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Charles Palmer devoted a great deal of time, energy, and money to developing his property. The Major General lived mainly in England, and so the estate was managed by his authorized representative, Mr Grey, who helped to increase the wine's reputation among wealthy connoisseurs.
In June 1853, the brothers Isaac and Emile Péreire, famous bankers and rivals of the Rothschilds, bought Palmer and began investing in the estate immediately. However, there was not enough time to bring Chateau Palmer up to first growth status in time for the famous 1855 classification. It was thus ranked a Third Growth, although it is widely recognized as among the greatest wines of Bordeaux.
Several families of Bordeaux, English, and Dutch extraction all involved in the wine trade, united to buy Palmer in 1938 and have worked hard to give the estate its present reputation. These families have always given priority to quality, despite the financial risk this entailed. They have unfailingly applied the principles that have made the great wines of Bordeaux so successful: authenticity, quality, and permanence.
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.