Chateau Palmer 2009 (Pre Arrival)

Scores

99 / 100

"Just starting to knock on the door of secondary aromatics, you can peek into the wine and find truffle, flowers, tobacco leaf, smoked cherries and spice. But that is only the beginning. Once you taste the wine and you feel those sensuous textures as the wine glides across your palate, you know this is special. The wine has more than ample density, but it is not heavy. The lift in the mid-palate keeps all those layers of ripe, dark red, earthy fruits alive. Vibrant, elegant and silky, the end note remains with you for at least 50 seconds or more. If you like more youthful fruit in your wine, you can drink this now. If you want to enjoy the wine as it heads to its peak, give it another decade of rest. This should age effortlessly for decades."
- Jeff Leve

99 / 100

"Dark ruby, purple reflections, subtle ochre rim, engaging savouriness, delicate liquorice, blackberry confit,floral nuances. Extremely complex, dark cherry fruit, full and ripe character with charming, ripe tannins, enormous length and great drive. A wine built for many decades, already very seductive, was very accessible from the start and will probably remain so for decades."
- Falstaff

99 / 100

"The 2009 Palmer is unquestionably one of the greatest young Bordeaux I’ve tasted, and it has a rare mix of richness and elegance that’s incredible. Blackcurrants, violets, lead pencil shavings and a touch of minerality all emerge from this rich, massively concentrated Margaux that still glides across the palate with no sense of weight or heaviness. It’s perfectly balanced, has a ripe, hedonistic core of fruit, as well as integrated acidity. It’s a dream today, but is going to have 30-40 years or more of prime drinking."
- Jeb Dunnuck

Tasting Notes