Appellations

Palmer 2021

Margaux, Third Growth

GBP Price:	Size	Quantities	Units	status	Actions

Tasting Notes
Vivid ruby and violet colour, this is a brilliant wine, inky and with clear supple give to the tannins. Give it a full 8 to 10 years before drinking, and here you feel that they have sacrificed very little to the vintage, this feels entirely Palmer in character. Savoury but abundant blue and black fruits, plenty of crayon, cocoa bean and slate, with a floral prettiness and a mouthwatering finish. 27hl/h yield, harvest September 24 to October 16, 55% new oak (first year in barrel, second year in larger oak caks of 3,000l). Score: 96 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2043 Date: 02 April 2024
The 2021 Palmer is a heady, showy wine. Clay-rich soils yield a Margaux of breadth, power and textural richness. Black cherry, lavender, mocha and dried herbs infuse the 2021 with tons of character. A wine of density and intensity, this is seriously impressive. It is also going to need time to fully blossom. There’s real juiciness from the Merlot, and an exotic quality that suggests it was picked on the later side. The 2021 spent one year in barrel and one year in cask, as is the norm these days here. Score: 96 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2031-2061 Date: 27 February 2024
The 2021 Palmer, which is 80% matured in foudres and the second year in regular barriques, has a very intense and well-defined bouquet. I feel that this is the first vintage where Duroux's incremental increase in foudres is moderating the impact of wood on the nose, now much more discrete and terroir-driven, with pure black fruit and a touch of brine/seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite velvety in texture, with a keen line of acidity and a judicious sprinkling of cracked black pepper on the finish. This Palmer seems to ride the challenges of the growing season and comes out the other side with a very classically styled wine that has intellectual heft. Score: 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2065 Date: 22 February 2024
Less exuberance but Palmer identity intact, the old-vine Merlot to the fore. Dense and full with a generosity of fruit. Silky texture on attack, the tannins present but controlled. Slightly dry finish with a bit of chew. Should improve further with élevage. Score: 17 James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2028-2046 Date: 06 May 2022
There’s brightness and clarity to this young wine, with blackcurrants, violets, lavender and blackberries. Medium body with a sold core of fruit and a long, fresh finish. Fine tannins. Bright acidity. 56% merlot, 3% petit verdot and 41% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes. Score: 96 - 97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 01 May 2022
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. Score: 95 - 97 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 29 April 2022
The Grand Vin 2021 Château Palmer checks in as 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot. The élevage here is unique in that the wine spends the first year in barrel (60% new) before having one-third moved into foudre for the following 6 months. The 2021 is an unquestionable success, revealing a dense purple hue as well as a powerful bouquet of ripe black and blue fruits supported by notes of tobacco, graphite, and chocolate. This medium to full-bodied Margaux has ripe, velvety tannins, a great mid-palate, and outstanding length. It's going to have plenty of up-front appeal yet still evolve for two decades. Score: 93 - 95 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 06 February 2022

Tasting Notes

Vivid ruby and violet colour, this is a brilliant wine, inky and with clear supple give to the tannins. Give it a full 8 to 10 years before drinking, and here you feel that they have sacrificed very little to the vintage, this feels entirely Palmer in character. Savoury but abundant blue and black fruits, plenty of crayon, cocoa bean and slate, with a floral prettiness and a mouthwatering finish. 27hl/h yield, harvest September 24 to October 16, 55% new oak (first year in barrel, second year in larger oak caks of 3,000l).

Score: 96 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2028-2043 Date: 02 April 2024

The 2021 Palmer is a heady, showy wine. Clay-rich soils yield a Margaux of breadth, power and textural richness. Black cherry, lavender, mocha and dried herbs infuse the 2021 with tons of character. A wine of density and intensity, this is seriously impressive. It is also going to need time to fully blossom. There’s real juiciness from the Merlot, and an exotic quality that suggests it was picked on the later side. The 2021 spent one year in barrel and one year in cask, as is the norm these days here.

Score: 96 Antonio Galloni, Inside Bordeaux Maturity: 2031-2061 Date: 27 February 2024

The 2021 Palmer, which is 80% matured in foudres and the second year in regular barriques, has a very intense and well-defined bouquet. I feel that this is the first vintage where Duroux's incremental increase in foudres is moderating the impact of wood on the nose, now much more discrete and terroir-driven, with pure black fruit and a touch of brine/seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, quite velvety in texture, with a keen line of acidity and a judicious sprinkling of cracked black pepper on the finish. This Palmer seems to ride the challenges of the growing season and comes out the other side with a very classically styled wine that has intellectual heft.

Score: 94 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2030-2065 Date: 22 February 2024

Less exuberance but Palmer identity intact, the old-vine Merlot to the fore. Dense and full with a generosity of fruit. Silky texture on attack, the tannins present but controlled. Slightly dry finish with a bit of chew. Should improve further with élevage.

Score: 17 James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2028-2046 Date: 06 May 2022

There’s brightness and clarity to this young wine, with blackcurrants, violets, lavender and blackberries. Medium body with a sold core of fruit and a long, fresh finish. Fine tannins. Bright acidity. 56% merlot, 3% petit verdot and 41% cabernet sauvignon. From biodynamically grown grapes.

Score: 96 - 97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 01 May 2022

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.

Score: 95 - 97 William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 29 April 2022

The Grand Vin 2021 Château Palmer checks in as 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot. The élevage here is unique in that the wine spends the first year in barrel (60% new) before having one-third moved into foudre for the following 6 months. The 2021 is an unquestionable success, revealing a dense purple hue as well as a powerful bouquet of ripe black and blue fruits supported by notes of tobacco, graphite, and chocolate. This medium to full-bodied Margaux has ripe, velvety tannins, a great mid-palate, and outstanding length. It's going to have plenty of up-front appeal yet still evolve for two decades.

Score: 93 - 95 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 06 February 2022

Your Lists & Checkout

Appellations

Palmer 2021

Margaux, Third Growth

search wines

Full wine List

RSS feeds

wine regions

join our mailing list