Chateau Palmer 2021

Pre-arrival offer, arrive in June 2023, all cost included.

The late-ripening, low-yielding vintage has delivered a beautifully balanced wine of striking intensity in the 2021 Palmer. Unwinding in the glass with complex aromas of blackberries, exotic spices, licorice, violets and burning embers, it's full-bodied, layered and enveloping, with a deep, concentrated core of fruit, ripe tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, expansive finish. If recent vintages of Palmer have set new records in their power and richness, the 2021 marks a return to the classical proportions of the 1990s—with all the additional concentration and precision that Thomas Douroux's pioneering viticulture and thoughtful winemaking have brought to the equation at this address in the interim. The grand vin is a blend of 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, picked between September 24 and October 15. Tasted twice.
95-97 points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (Apr 2022)

The 2021 Palmer is one of the truly epic wines of the year. It's not the 2018, but it is in that vein, albeit at 13% in alcohol. There's tremendous richness and sheer extract here. Blackberry jam, chocolate, smoke, licorice, lavender and mocha notes possess remarkable primary intensity, more like a young must than a wine with a few months of age. Readers will find a Palmer that offers a compelling mix of opulence and energy. Drink 2031-2061.
94-97 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous

The 2021 Palmer has a discrete bouquet that demands patience. This does not race out of the blocks, rather it unfurls with subtle graphite scents, blackberry, hints of cassis, plus some of the briny aromas that I noticed on the Alter Ego. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins that frame the cedar and graphite infused black fruit. Quite strict for a Palmer, yet fresh with a cerebral, saline finish that is almost Pauillac-like in style despite the majority from old Merlot vines that are situated on some of its finest gravel terroirs. Very long, very suave on the finish. Superb. Drink 2030-2065.
94-96 points
Neal Martin - Vinous

Deep ruby, garnet in color, the wine shows off its flowers, cocoa, black plum and dark cherry, with a Cuban cigar note coming in at the end of the nose with ease. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, fresh, sweet, poised and vibrant. The wine offers a lush, dark chocolate, plum, currant and coffee bean tinted mid-palate in the vibrant, lifted finish. The wine is blend of 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. 13.4% ABV, pH 3.72. Yields were low at a paltry 22 hectoliters per hectare. 55% of the harvest was placed into the Grand Vin. Picking took place September 24 - October 14. Drink from 2028-2055.
94-96 points
Jeff Leve - The Wine Cellar Insider