Bordeaux Collector Wines

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The 1998 Calon-Ségur, blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, is deep garnet-purple in color with just a touch of brick and a very earthy/meaty nose with notions of new leather, smoked game, truffles, dusty soil, iron ore and mossy bark over a core of crème de cassis, preserved plums, spice cake and unsmoked cigars plus a waft of incense. The palate is medium-bodied and packed with spicy and earthy layers with velvety tannins, seamless freshness and great length. Give it 10 to 15+ more years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

I always loved this wine from the first time I tasted it in 1998. It has such purity and power yet it’s reserved and beautiful. It’s one of the best Calons ever. I drank a bottle with some friends in Manhattan last week and it was the wine of the evening. It was full-bodied with silky tannins and a focused and intense finish. Lots of currant and berry character and hints of dried spices. It’s finally opening up and giving real pleasure now like so many 1995 Bordeaux at the moment.James Suckling | 97 JSIncredible nose of crushed berries, flowers, spices and nuts. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Powerful and solid. Builds on the palate. Give it time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 95 WSTasted from an ex-château bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London. The 1995 Calon-Segur was the vintage that raised the profile of this estate and heralded the start of the late Mme Gasqueton’s era. At 20 years of age, it shows no signs of reaching the end of its plateau. Far from it. It has an endearing bouquet that still seems youthful: brambly red fruit, asphalt and a light marine influence. Allowing the wine to open, there is a subtle winegum scent. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, impressive depth and backbone, the second half having mellowed in recent years, rendering this approachable; hints of secondary truffle and smoke notes emerging with aeration. It has been several years since I last tasted this wine, but it is one that seems to become more and more impressive with age. Robert Parker rightly lauded this Calon-Ségur at the time of release. Twenty years on, it is fulfilling all its promise. Tasted March 2015.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NM(Château Calon-Ségur (St. Estèphe)) The 1995 vintage is one I would like to do a retrospective feature on, but as it was the first year in Bordeaux where wines took a steep increase in price from their 1980s levels, I did not buy the vintage for my own cellar, even though the isolated examples I tasted early on I always found quite promising. In any case, this 1995 Calon-Ségur (which a friend recently blinded me on), was excellent in quality and starting to really drink nicely. The bouquet is precise and pure, wafting from the glass in a fine blend of cassis, cigar smoke, a complex base of dark soil tones, a suave foundation of nutty new oak and a topnote of tobacco leaf. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and impeccably balanced, with a lovely core of fruit, good soil signature, ripe, melting tannins and lovely focus and grip on the complex finish. Whether or not the overall vintage of 1995 is top flight or not, the Calon-Ségur is certainly a superb wine. (Drink between 2019-2050).John Gilman | 93 JGGood deep red-ruby color. Black cherry, leather, olive and a hint of crystallized berries; fresher on the nose than the ’97. Sweet, firmly structured and very nicely balanced, with strong but integrated acidity and very good flavor definition. Tannins are ripe and fine.Vinous Media | 91 VM

(Château Lagrange) The 2000 vintage of Lagrange is one of the most powerfully built that I have tasted from the Suntory era, and it will take many years for this deep and classy wine to reach its apogee. I very much like the cool fruit tones of the 2000 on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is a fine, reserved blend of cassis, bell pepper, espresso, black cherries, a bit of youthful horsiness, an impressive base of soil tones, tobacco leaf and a very vague impression of new oak buried somewhere in the aromatic depths of the wine. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very young, with a rock solid structure, ripe tannins, good acids and excellent focus and grip on the very long, palate-staining and chewy finish. While the 2005’s great tangy acids will carry the wine far into the future, the 2000 vintage gets my vote for the potentially longest-lived wine that this property has yet produced since the changeover in 1983. Most promising. (Drink between 2022-2080)John Gilman | 94 JGAn impressive performance by Lagrange, the 2000 possesses a saturated ruby/purple color with obvious notes of melted licorice, creme de cassis, and toasty new oak. This ripe, dense, full-bodied St.-Julien is chewy, thick, high in tannin, large-bodied, and impressively long and dense. As always, it is less expressive than some of its peers, but it is loaded as well as reasonably priced. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.Robert Parker | 93 RPThis is a muscular red, rippling with bramble-edged tannins that push the dense core of blackberry, fig and boysenberry fruit paste flavors along. Juicy star anise notes and a swath of well-roasted apple wood add even more range on the finish, which is seriously long. Just ever so slightly woodsy in the end, but a terrific showing.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Best from 2018 through 2028. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA wine that is just starting to wake up after a long sleep. It’s medium-to-full-bodied, with super-integrated tannins and a lead-pencil, currant and berry character. Lemon peel undertones. Lovely silky texture. Drink now and beyond.James Suckling | 93 JSNo written review provided. | 93 W&S(includes 76% cabernet sauvignon, the highest percentage ever at Lagrange) Deep, saturated bright ruby-purple. Brooding aromas of cassis, violet and cedar ("hibernating now," says Ducasse). Very densely packed but very closed and extremely backward. Nearly painful flavors of black fruits, violet and menthol. Finishes very firm and very long, with powerful tannins supported by the wine’s flesh. Forget this wine until 2015. The petit verdot was left out of the blend, notes Ducasse, "because it was too strong, too muscular, not elegant. " Only time will tell if this wine surpasses the 1996.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

A return to form in my eyes for Calon Ségur after the atypical 2018, rippling with elegance, balance and savoury blue fruits of Cabernet, with rose and peony flowers. Concentrated, chiselled and juicy, this has clear personality and equals the great, classically balanced vintages of Calon like 2016. A yield of 33hl/ha, 3.85pH, 100% new oak. Vincent Millet is now overall director as well as technical director, since the departure of Laurent Dufau in 2020. Drinking Window 2029 - 2048.Decanter | 98 DECThe 2020 Calon-Ségur is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. It is aging in 100% new French oak barrels for an anticipated 18 to 20 months. The alcohol is 13.8%. Displaying a deep purple-black color, it straight away springs up with bright scents of freshly picked black raspberries, kirsch and blackberries, needing considerable swirling to reveal a vast array of nuances—rose oil, cardamom, iron ore, graphite, lavender and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate has a solid structure of firm, ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness supporting the tightly wound red and black fruit layers, accented by lots of mineral and floral sparks, finishing with impressive length and depth. Beautiful, beautiful wine!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97+ RPThe flagship 2020 Château Calon Ségur is also brilliant and certainly brings up the intensity, depth, and richness, although it’s nowhere near the exotic, almost over-the-top style of the 2018. Gorgeous crème de cassis, tobacco, roasted coffee beans, lead pencil, and sappy herbs all define this beauty, which is full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and has incredible purity of fruit. It might have some up-front appeal as well, yet smart money will hide bottles for at least 7-8 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95-97 JDTobacco and tea aromas with currants and wet earth. Full-bodied and chewy with blackcurrant flavor. Tannins build on the finish with lots of structure and intensity. Quite muscular.James Suckling | 95-96 JSThe powerful tannins of this wine cannot mask the beautiful fruits and acidity. Rather the tannins enhance them, giving structure to the wine’s fine blackberry fruitiness that leaves a refreshing character at the end. With this structure the wine will take its time and will need to age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2020 Calon Ségur is a dark, brooding wine that is going to need a number of years to become approachable. Black fruit, gravel, smoke, chocolate, leather and licorice give the 2020 its distinctly virile feel. In two separate tastings, the 2020 has come across as quite potent and forbidding. This sample is more convincing than a sample I tasted this past spring, but I still don’t see Calon-Segur as having reached the level that has become customary over the last few vintages.Vinous Media | 91-93 VM

The 2020 Palmer, which was matured in 65% new oak, possesses one of the most perfumed bouquets of the vintage with entrancing, seductive scents of black cherries, wild strawberry, iodine and crushed violets, all beautifully delineated (as per usual). The palate is medium-bodied with fine but quite firm tannins, lending this Palmer more backbone than presupposed. Blackberry, graphite and touches of liquorice develop with aeration that build towards an assertive, pencil box-tinged finish that nods towards Pauillac. This is a Palmer destined for long-term ageing, so readers should have a cool damp cellar handy. It is a serious Palmer, very different from the previous two vintages, not a mix of the two, but content in just being itself. 14.1% alcohol.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThis wine’s floral perfume is matched by generous tannins that surprise by their strength. The fruit flavors offer a mix of black and red berries. They are finely structured and concentrated, balanced by tightly woven acidity. Made from organic and biodynamic grapes.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEVivid colours, and the aromatics grab hold straight away. This is intense and concentrated, elegant, balanced and classical, all about the texture which is velvety and seductive with softly-grained tannins. Moves oh so slowly through the palate with dozens of layers to get hold of. The overall feel is precise, slow and seductive, with appellation and estate signature at every turn. Sappy, hawthorn freshness, rosemary, redcurrant, tobacco, cigar box and dark chocolate shavings on the finish. 3.77pH, 78IPT, 55% of overall production, with 13% press wine. Drinking Window 2028 - 2044.Decanter | 97 DEC

I am breathless with the dark-berry, lavender and burnt-orange aromas. Some salt. Just so formidable and deep. Stunningly sexy on the palate with a density and power, yet it leaves things so clean and bright. You want to drink it and enjoy it now, but it has the structure to last forever. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 100 JSBottled relatively late in mid-September 2017, the 2015 Palmer is a blend of 44% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon with a small portion of Petit Verdot. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it offers vibrant red currants, black cherries, wild blueberries, earth and mineral characteristics to begin, with slowly unfurling floral notes of violets and dried roses plus compelling baker’s chocolate and fragrant earth layers. Medium to full-bodied, generously fruited and possessing firm yet very, very fine-grained, mind-blowingly ripe tannins, the multifaceted palate features something of a skip in its step in terms of freshness, while it goes beguilingly earthy on the finish with some mineral hints. Very classy, elegant and sophisticated, this vintage is downright regal in its juxtaposition between poise and audaciousness. Think 2005 Palmer with a tick more fruit intensity, perfume and passion.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPOne of the gems in Margaux is unquestionably the 2015 Palmer. Possessing more elegance and purity, as well as concentration, than the Alter Ego, it offers up a gorgeous bouquet of crème de cassis, caramelized cherries, charcoal, and graphite, with just a hint of spring flowers in the background. A final blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 70% new oak, this full-bodied, ripe, incredibly polished 2015 is already hard to resist given its elegance and purity, yet should be at its best from 2023-2043. If you have more than one bottle, it’s sensational today as well.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDGenerous, rich and powerful, this is a sumptuous wine. With just a slight preponderance of Cabernet Sauvignon, it has structure as well as clean, clear black-currant flavors. Produced from biodynamically grown grapes, it delivers an explosion of fruit as well as serious tannins. Drink from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2015 Palmer has an outstanding bouquet featuring extraordinarily pure and intense scents of blackberry, cassis, cedar and pencil box, quite opulent but already irresistible. The supple, medium-bodied palate offers firm tannin, impressive weight and girth, and white pepper and sage toward the persistent finish. There is a lot of matter in this Margaux and it will require a decade to reach its drinking window. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.Vinous Media | 97 VMSix months from the last time I tasted this wine and it is a little more closed than it was, as the 2015s begin to retreat inwards for a few years. Still no mistaking the quality of this vintage, and it remains a brilliant Palmer, that is equal to the greatest years. Still extremely young, with rich, deep textured fruits, tons of blueberry and raspberry fruits, all expressed with clarity and purity. Grilled cedar, liquorice and crushed stone minerality. Harvest September 22 to October 7. At this point the estate was fully in conversion for certification, working 100% organically and biodynamically. Drinking Window 2025 - 2045.Decanter | 97 DECThis is dark and muscular in style, brimming with bramble, warm tar and paving stone notes that are matched by the deep layers of fig, blackberry and cassis fruit. A gorgeous bittersweet chocolate detail adds spine to the finish while violet and iron elements lurk in reserve. Another large wave of fruit and dark earth courses through the finish. Best from 2025 through 2045.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

This is a beautiful Giscours with tension and finesse. It’s full-bodied and shows plenty of berry and spice character, not to mention a long, silky-textured finish. It seduces you with each sip. Why wait?James Suckling | 95 JSThis chateau gets better and better. The wine has power, but it is harnessed by the intense fruits, the blackberry flavors, the density and the wood. With the power, though, comes elegance, resulting in a wine that is ready to develop over many years.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThis is a powerful wine with good ageing potential. The nose is ripe and creamy with plenty of dark fruit and spice complexity. The palate is rich, full and gourmand with Cabernet-cassis notes coming through. There’s a big tannic frame that shows the more masculine side of this Margaux. The finesse may be missing but there’s a lot of wine here. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2005 Giscours captures all the natural radiance of the year in its stylish, racy personality. Sweet tannins wrap around a core of sweet red berry fruit, kirsch, rose petal, mint, spice and blood orange. Soft, curvy and sensual, Giscours is a winner in 2005. It doesn’t quite offer the grandeur of the very finest Left Bank 2005s, but it has plenty of that richness.Antonio Galloni | 93 AGDisplays blackberry, cherry and hints of sweet tobacco. Full-bodied, with soft, velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very pretty and solid. This is structured and chewy. Needs time. Best after 2013. 20,830 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSTasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2005 Château Giscours is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot picked between September 22 and October 6. Conspicuously deep in color, both the aromatics and palate replicate the strong performance from earlier this year. The bouquet offers very fine intensity with blackberry and cedar, here a tinge of cassis that becomes accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly grainy tannin. It is very well balanced and almost Saint Julien in style. It is clearly very focused with a sustained, mineral-rich finish that (as I said before) contains real energy. This is an excellent Giscours that will age nicely over the next 20-25 years. Tasted June 2015.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 92 RP-NM

(Château Palmer) The 1981 vintage at Château Palmer is really lovely middleweight and a wine that offers up lovely sappiness at the core to go along with very refined aromatic complexity. The bouquet is a lovely blend of cassis, mulberry, cigar ash, hints of chipotle pepper, sweet cigar wrapper and a lovely base of dark soil tones. On the palate the wine is medium-full, pure and very suave on the attack, with a good core, lovely focus and balance, melted tannins and a long, classy finish. Just a lovely wine that is now at its apogee, but shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. (Drink between 2016-2035)John Gilman | 92 JG

Tasted at Bordeaux Index’s tasting and at the château, the 2006 Calon Segur was current winemaker Vincent Millet’s first vintage. In many ways, you can see it as one of the last of the "old style" Calon Segur wines with a higher percentage of Merlot than nowadays (the 2006 consists of 33% Merlot), while I aver that the tannins are not as fine as they are nowadays. The Merlot component is vividly expressed on the nose with ravishing ripe red cherries, kirsch and strawberry, just slightly smudged by the alcohol. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannin, quite sexy in style but it does not have the class of more recent vintages and it seems to have remained tough up on the finish. It will loosen up with time, so afford this another 6-8 years in bottle. Tasted January 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93 RP-NMNot a wine that will please everyone. This has the austerity and backward thinking of 2006 mixed with the sleek fruit of Calon; rich, dark and not at all showy. Instead, it is subtle, delicate and thoroughly lovely. Drinking Window 2017 - 2038.Decanter | 93 DECFocused and fresh, with violet and blackberry aromas and vanilla undertones. Full-bodied, with very pretty berry fruit character, fine tannins and a long, caressing finish. Refined. Best after 2014. 14,445 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS(Château Calon-Ségur) The 2006 Calon-Ségur (as noted above) was the first vintage produced under the guiding hand of Vincent Millet and this wine was a return to the classic cépages at the estate of predominantly cabernet sauvignon, after the detrimental increase in the percentage of merlot in the blend between 1990 and 2005. The wine is very, very closed today, but it is going to be a lovely wine with sufficient bottle age, as the wine is very well-balanced and simply needs time alone in the cellar to resolve its considerable chassis of tannin. The deep and still quite youthful nose reluctantly offers up scents of black cherries, curry, blossoming notes of dried eucalyptus, dark soil tones, cigar ash and a stylish base of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full- bodied and completely in its dumb phase, with a very good core, ripe, chewy tannins, lovely focus and a very long, currently quite hermetically-sealed finish. This is a good eight to ten years away from blossoming, but it will be excellent if given sufficient patience. (Drink between 2022-2050).John Gilman | 92 JGAromas of perfumes and blueberries with minerals. Medium-to-full body, fine tannins and a tangy, fresh finish. Attractive tension and austerity to this. Savory and juicy. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 91 JSBright ruby-red. Perfumed, terroir-driven aromas and flavors of redcurrant, licorice, iron, cinders, woodsmoke, minerals and pepper, plus a whiff of meat. At once dense and suave, with herbal and peppery nuances contributing to the wine’s impression of insinuating vinosity and inner-mouth aromatic character. Almost rustic in its soil tones but not in its refined texture. Finishes with building tannins and a juicy freshness. A wine worth following.Vinous Media | 90+ VMThis wine’s rich red fruit rides above firm, stony St-Estèphe tannins, the contrast providing some delicate detail and more serious depth. As the tannins increase their grip with air, the fruit gets redder, like the skin of a ripening plum. Calon-Ségur, on a hill just outside the village of St-Estèphe, often grows vin de garde; this vintage should be a keeper.Wine & Spirits | 90 W&S

Technical Director Thomas Duroux and his team made one of the most brilliant wines of the 2016 vintage. Palmer is simply exceptional. Rich and dramatically sweeping in the glass, the 2016 is breathtaking. All the elements simply fall into place in a wine of mesmerizing beauty. The counterpoint of dark, sumptuous fruit and floral notes makes for an utterly compelling Palmer that will take its place among the estate’s finest vintages. Dark cherry, lavender, spice and mocha are some of the many notes that build into a deep, substantial finish that is truly unforgettable. In a word: magnificent!Antonio Galloni | 100 AGThe finest vintage I’ve ever tasted from this estate, surpassing the 2009 and 2010, the 2016 Château Palmer is a blend of 47% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with the balance Petit Verdot, all of which was brought up in 65% new French oak. This magical effort reveals a saturated purple color as well as a huge nose of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, and spring flowers, and it develops beautifully with time in the glass. Full-bodied, deep, incredibly concentrated and powerful, it nevertheless just glides over the palate with flawless purity and balance, present, ripe tannins, and a finish that just won’t quit. This is Bordeaux at its most regal and classic. It will be drinkable with just 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for half a century.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDPowerful tannins and hugely rich fruit balance together in this superb wine. The velvet texture belies the power behind the concentrated, ripe black-fruit flavor, with vibrant acidity giving ample lift. The wine’s structure will ensure aging for many years. Drink from 2024. Wine Enthusiast | 100 WEThe 2016 Palmer is a blend of 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. Opaque garnet-purple colored, it slowly glides out of the glass with compelling notes of blueberry compote, warm cassis and kirsch with emerging hints of violets, cigar box, black tea, sandalwood and Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, wonderfully rich, concentrated and packed with latent energy, the palate literally grows in the mouth, revealing layer upon layer of black, blue and red fruits and tons of floral sparks, framed by super ripe, incredibly fine-grained tannins and finishing with epic length. It’s a wine that makes you wanna drape yourself languidly over a chaise lounge, glass of Palmer in hand, sighing with deep satisfaction, “This is so wonderfully Palmer.”Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPAs is always the case with Palmer, the richness, depth and silkiness is just so impressive. Sophisticated and well constructed, with a vertical lift-off, there’s a creamy richness on the palate which supports pencil-lead, liquorice, damson, black cherry and slate. I love the smoky cocoa bean finish. Like the Alter Ego, it’s a different style this year but no less impressive, displaying width, heft and incredible persistency. It’s a wine that’s going to age far into the future and is extremely easy to recommend. The highest ever proportion of grand vin was produced in 2016.Drinking Window 2025 - 2042.Decanter | 98 DECSuch attractive fruit and alluring ripeness that it draws you in from the get-go. The discreet power here is delivered with a very astute touch. Assorted dark-berry aromas, as well as red plums, abound on the nose. The richness and depth in the mouth is stunning. The tannins are super polished and layered and they draw pristine dark fruit flavors deep into the finish in effortless mode. This is a star of the vintage. A blend of 47 per cent merlot, 47 per cent cabernet sauvignon and six per cent petit verdot. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is a very solid rendering, with a core of steeped blackberry, black currant and fig fruit flavors that are juicy and well-defined. The back end picks up lots of graphite, tobacco, anise and violet notes while maintaining focus and energy. Shows latent depth as the fruit echoes steadily. Best from 2023 through 2038.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

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.James Suckling | 96-97 JSThe 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.Vinous Media | 96 VMPerfumed chocolate cherries with bramble tones on the nose. This has a rich and round mouthfeel, clear structure on show but also with life and lift - a sweet, bright cherry element given definition by strict but fine tannins. You have a really beautiful, delicate opening, quite wide and airy then the depth arrives on the mid palate, with chalky tannins and red fruits coming into play before the spiced liquorice enters on the finish. The texture is striking, velvet-like with layers and a sublime verticality of freshness and minty aeration. It may be less glamourous and overtly plush and seductive than bigger previous vintages but I love the classicism on show - a focus, precision and sophistication. Superb winemaking from Thomas Duroux who successfully navigated the difficult vintage conditions in 2021.Decanter | 96 DECThe wine is dense with warm tannins supporting black fruit tones and acidity. Juicy and spicy, the wine’s Cabernet Sauvignon shows so well with black currant flavors. It is fresh and it obviously it will age well. Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2021 Palmer has turned out beautifully in bottle, wafting from the glass with expressive aromas of blackberries, cherries and mulberries mingled with notions of iris, dark chocolate and spices. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with an enveloping core of succulent fruit framed by rich, sweet tannins, it concludes with a long, expansive finish. It’s a blend of 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThe 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.Jeb Dunnuck | 93-95 JDDeep garnet-purple colored, the 2021 Palmer needs a little swirling and coaxing to unlock evocative plum preserves, black cherry compote, and star anise notes, followed by earthy nuances of tilled soil, black truffles, and cracked black pepper with a touch of wild sage. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers beautifully soft, rounded tannins and lots of juicy fruit in the mid-palate, supported by harmonious acidity, finishing with beautiful purity and perfume. The blend is 56% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Petit Verdot. 65% of the crop will be aged new barriques for the first year, then transferred to foudres for the second year.The Wine Independent | 92-94+ TWIOffers an almost juicy edge, making this difficult vintage stand out from the pack while giving its core of black cherry and black currant some energy. Subtle alder, tobacco and warm earth accents underscore the finish. Shows a late mineral twang, with just a wisp of the vintage’s austerity. Serious kudos here. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2035. 7,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

A Saint-Estèphe of stature and vertical intensity, the 2021 Calon Ségur dazzles from the very first taste. Spice, menthol, licorice, black cherry, mint and espresso are some of the many notes that build with a bit of coaxing. The 2021 clocks in at a modest 12.9% in alcohol, yet it possesses tremendous density and textural resonance. What a wine! Tasted two times.Vinous Media | 97 VMThe Grand Vin 2021 Château Calon Ségur is one heck of a winner in the vintage and is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot. Hitting 12.9% alcohol, its deep purple hue is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of cassis, violets, ripe darker raspberries, and spring flowers. It’s elegant and has a great mid-palate, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It’s unquestionably one of the gems from the Médoc and will round into form with 3-5 years of bottle age and, I suspect, be long-lived.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-97 JDA fine Calon Ségur this year with 92% Cabernet, the highest in the blend since the 2009 vintage. This is rich and dark with a spiced nose full of black chocolate and black pepper edged by soft floral notes. Graceful and refined on the palate bursting with freshness and such integrated tannins. Smooth but on the mineral edge so you get that hint of austerity/salinity together with the acidity giving this some sharpness and high definition. It’s got concentration and depth but at the moment it’s so linear and detailed in its precision that it’s coming across very straight and taut. Tannins have some grip and this has a nice weight on the mid-palate leading into a long finish. I adore the sweet salty tang at the end. I’m looking forward to tasting this in bottle. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.65pH. No chaptalisation. A yield of 36hl/ha. 20 months ageing, 100% new oak barrels.Decanter | 95 DECRevisited in bottle, the 2021 Calon-Ségur opens in the glass with aromas of dark berries mingled with aromas of violets, pencil shavings, lilac, Indian spices, cigar wrapper and grilled meats. Medium to full-bodied, dense and suave, with powdery tannins, lively acids and a penetratingly sapid and discreetly carnal finish, it appears to have lost a touch of aromatic precision during élevage, but it remains a compelling Calon-Ségur.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPA step ahead of the pack in this vintage, this offers a hint of polish to fleshier-than-most cassis and plum puree flavors. Solidly built, with a well-buried chalky spine, plus tangy acidity. Lilac, bay and black tea notes add range on the finish. Shows the vintage’s taut character, but this has more depth and better proportion than most of its colleagues. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2037. 7,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA juicy and caressingly astringent red with currant, berry and cedar aromas with citrus undertones. Medium body. Firm and silky with a delicious finish. A little tight at the end. Two or three years will open it up.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2021 Calon Segur is deep garnet-purple in color. It sashays out with vibrant notes of wild blueberries, raspberry coulis, and cassis followed by hints of bay leaves, camphor, and cedar. Light-bodied, the palate is delicately styled with loads of zip lifting the finely packed fruit, finishing long and fragrant. The blend is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot.The Wine Independent | 90-92 TWI

So much sweet tobacco, stone, brambleberry and currant on the nose. The palate is full and compact with very polished tannins, yet they are solid and sturdy and run the length and width of the wine. Energetic acidity. Very structured and powerful, yet agile and impressive. Historic feel. From biodynamically grown grapes. This needs at least six years of bottle age to soften. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2019 Palmer is a truly special wine, but it is also going to need a number of years to be at its finest. Dense and plush, with explosive energy, the 2019 possesses tremendous richness in its dark fruit. As always, the blend features a high percentage of Merlot (43%) which works so well in complementing the savoriness of the Cabernet. Thomas Duroux and his team fashioned another absolutely compelling Palmer in 2019.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThe 2019 Château Palmer is even richer, with a stacked, full-bodied, concentrated profile as well as beautiful notes of ripe black cherries, blackcurrants, lead pencil, tobacco leaf, and chocolate. I love its mid-palate, it has building, ripe, yet substantial tannins, tons of fat and glycerin, and a gorgeous finish. I don’t think it will ultimately match the 2009, 2016, or 2018, but it’s nevertheless a brilliant wine as well as one of the stars of the show from Margaux. It will benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age (it already offers pleasure) and have 30-40 years of overall longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA serious and darkly fruited wine with notes of milk chocolate, violets and black cherries supported by fine-grained and velvety tannins that really coat the mouth, carefully constructed with acidity underneath that gives brightness and lift. The emphasis here is really the concentration and density of flavours with layers of black chocolate, black cherries, cocoa powder and cooling minerality but each with purity and definition. Excellently framed and well packaged with energy and verve. So many elements going on: a great Palmer. (Drink between 2029-2050)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2019 Palmer is a rich, dramatic wine that soars from the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries and berry fruit liqueur mingled with notions of violets, rose petals and sweet spices. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, it’s powerful and immensely concentrated, with an enveloping core of lively fruit that largely conceals the wine’s ripe, powdery structuring tannins. Concluding with a long, penetrating finish, it’s a brilliant rendition of the contemporary Palmer style from Thomas Duroux and his team.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPShows the powerful fruit of the vintage, with waves of dark plum, warmed cassis and cherry compote flavors driving through, inlaid with a graphite edge and backed by an iron note on the finish. Features good underlying energy and everything is knit tightly, without the toothy grain typical of the vintage. Very solid. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2038. Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The wild strawberry sweetness and curling floral aromatics of a great older Margaux is starting to creep in at this point, along with clear white pepper spice, iris flowers and gentle black truffles. This was the first vintage to be produced in their new cellars, so going from old wooden vats to temperature controlled stainless steel. Also the last vintage of the famous Chardron brothers who had worked as cellar master and vineyard master for decades (and followed their father and grandfather in the roles, as with the Delmas’ at Haut-Brion), so really marked the end of one era and the beginning of an another. There is a clear quiet beauty to this wine, full of gentle pleasures that steal up on you and ask you to slow down and take your time. Harvest September 18 to 2 October. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 97 DECBig and powerful, with loads of fruit and chewy tannins. Still just a baby. Full-bodied, with lots of structure and a long, long finish. Give it time.--’95/’96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 14,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Palmer) In notable contrast to the power-monger 1996 Palmer, the 1995 gives the impression of a lovely and classic, albeit, quite new oaky vintage for this great château. The nose is much more floral in the classic Palmer manner, as it offers up a lovely mélange of plums, mulberries, chocolate, violets, tobacco leaf and plenty of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and quite generously coated with vanillin oak, but not dense or overly extracted, with lovely claret shape and nascent complexity, and a very long, polished and ripely tannic, but impeccably balanced finish. Of course I would have loved to have seen less new wood here, but despite its rather oaky character, there are not issues here with balance, and I have little doubt that this will prove to be a lovely wine at maturity. In many respects this is the last of the classic vintages of Palmer, though I do have high hopes for the apparent return towards elegance noted in the various 2004 bottlings. (Drink between 2020-2050)John Gilman | 91 JGBottled in July, 1997, this wine includes an extremely high percentage of Merlot (about 43%). It is a gloriously opulent, low acid, fleshy Palmer that will be attractive early and keep well. Dark ruby/purple-colored, with smoky, toasty new oak intertwined with gobs of jammy cherry fruit, and floral and chocolate nuances, this medium to full-bodied, plump yet elegant wine is impressive. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.Robert Parker | 90 RPRed-ruby color. Lower-pitched, redder aromas of plum, redcurrant and mulberry. Soft, sweet and lush, with an enticing layered texture and plenty of body. Currently more expressive in the middle palate than the ’96 but not quite as sharply delineated; conveys an impression of lower acidity. Finishes with very good length and even, ripe tannins. This gentle, ripe, seductive wine seems virtually unaffected by the bottling.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Shows beautiful age and character now after all this time in the bottle. Notes of earth, spice and ripe berries. Full and juicy, with round tannins.James Suckling | 95 JSBlockbuster. Dark ruby color. Intense aromas of blackberries, currants, cherries and minerals.Full-bodied, very tannic yet velvety in texture.Black licorice and berry character lasts forminutes. Long, chewy finish. A monster.--1990Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2010. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSOne of this estate’s superstars (only rivaled by the 1986 and 1996), the 1990 Lagrange exhibits sweet toasty oak notes intermixed with jammy blackberries, cassis, licorice, smoke, and underbrush. Full-bodied with lovely melted tannins, an opulent, fleshy mouthfeel, and loads of purity as well as depth, it has reached full maturity, but is capable of lasting another 10-15 years. Release price: ($210.00/case)Robert Parker | 94 RP The 1990 Lagrange is a terrific wine, and clearly one of the top vintages to be produced at the estate since Suntory purchased it in 1983. The bouquet today is deep and beautiful, as it offers up a mélange of very pure black cherry fruit, cigar ash, woodsmoke, a fine base of soil, espresso and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very pure, with great refinement to its balance and focus, very classic structure, fine-grained, ripe tannins and excellent length and grip on the complex and elegant finish. A superb wine that only needs a few more years to really reach its apogee, but which should offer up a very long plateau of maturity. Fine juice. (Drink between 2010-2060)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 1990 Lagrange was picked from 22 September until 10 October. I have always been lukewarm to the 1990 when others have been more adulatory, though this is the best bottle that I have encountered. The bouquet is well defined with pressed flowers, orange pith, brambly red fruit and warm gravel, warm and inviting aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and shows more harmony and cohesion than the 1989. There is more finesse, commendable in a hot season, with Indian spices lining the harmonious finish. A touch of dryness suggests that it may well be commencing a downward slope, but it will be a gentle one! Tasted at the Lagrange vertical at the estate.Vinous Media | 92 VM

A dense, traditionally crafted wine for those with patience, the 2000 Calon-Segur rivals the estate’s finest wines of the last two decades, the 1995, 1988, and 1982. But be forewarned, this wine has already closed down, something totally in character with all top vintages from this estate. This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc exhibits a plum/purple color along with gorgeous aromas of creosote intermixed with spring flowers, black cherries, cassis, licorice, and stony, liquid minerals. A powerful, tannic, full-bodied and opulent wine, it possesses considerable structure that is reasonably well-concealed by considerable glycerin and intensity. Look for it to be at its best between 2012-2040. Patience, patience, patience!Robert Parker | 94 RPThe 2000 Calon-Ségur still appears quite youthful on the rim. The well-defined nose offers brambly red fruit, red currant, crushed strawberry, rose petals and cedar, and some sous-bois just loitering in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with refined tannins. This has mellowed since I tasted it in London five years ago, and touches of tobacco and tart red cherries enliven the finish. I have always loved this millennial Calon-Ségur and now it is à point and drinking beautifully. Aged in 50% new oak and 50% one-year-old for 12 months (less than nowadays.)Vinous Media | 93 VMThis is a solid, huge wine, with rich but very dry tannins. With its dense, almost black color, and its sense of brooding power, it promises long aging. It will never be in the opulent Bordeaux camp, despite its prominent new wood flavors, but will probably outlive all but a handful top wines.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE(Château Calon-Ségur) The 2000 Calon-Ségur is a very closed, very grumpy wine at the present time, and this is a characteristic that it shares at the present time with a great many wines from this vintage. The blend here included forty-two percent merlot in 2000 and the wine offers up a very deep-pitched and adolescent bouquet of black fruit, inky tones, damp, dark soil, dried eucalyptus, coffee grounds and cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, closed down and quite dense at the core, with a gritty edge to its firm and chewy tannins, little generosity at the present time, but also with impressive grip on the closed, but very, very long finish. The length on the backend here really gives me some hope for the future of this wine, but it is really in a very difficult place for current assessment and I do not have a strong sense of whether or not this wine will always be a bit charmless, or if this is simply a passing phase and it will blossom to deliver some of Calons’ inherent breed with sufficient bottle age. (Drink between 2025-2065)John Gilman | 88-92+ JGThis shows a noticeable leafy edge, with tobacco, light cedar, bay and worn leather notes holding sway over a core of lightly mulled red currant and plum fruit flavors. Not as dense as the top examples, but everything pulls together nicely through the fine-grained finish.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

(Château Calon-Ségur) After having been snake-bitten with bad luck on a couple of occasions (cooked examples) with the 1961 Calon-Ségur, I was delighted to be served a bottle in pristine condition just before finishing up this feature on the estate. This is a great, great 1961 that is still a few years away from its apogee of peak drinkability. This hails from the old days at the château, when Calon was renowned for the longevity of its wines, and the 1961 is still a bit chewy and will continue to improve with further bottle age. The bouquet is very, very deep, pure and stunning, wafting from the glass in a vibrant blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, Cuban cigar wrapper, a complex base of dark soil, a touch of coffee bean and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and rock solid at the core, with the purity of 1961’s fruit beautifully synthesized to the classic, sturdy structure of Calon and adding a perception of roundness on the backend that is very rare for Calon in this era. The finish is very, very, very long, focused and well-balanced, with a chewy nature still in evidence to the remaining tannins, and great grip and complexity closing this magical 1961. Hard to believe that this wine, which is now more than fifty years of age, is going to be even better with further bottle age! This is the finest vintage of Calon-Ségur I have ever had the pleasure to taste. (Drink between 2014-2070)John Gilman | 96 JG

Alder and cedar aromas waft up from the core here, giving this a perfumed, incense-accented edge, while the silky but substantial structure lets the gently mulled plum, black currant and cherry flavors glide through. Shows a sanguine tang at the very end, displaying latent grip for further evolution.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2030.Wine Spectator | 94 WSAs the 1983 surprised many people for its success compared to 1982, so too is the 2001 Palmer, outgunning the 2000 on many of my recent tastings. I would not bet on it lasting as long as the 2000, but this is still young right now, with firm, still-muscular tannins and deep cassis fruits. An enjoyably balanced and subtle wine filled with charcoal and woodsmoke. Drinking Window 2020 - 2040.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2001 Palmer is a vintage that I have tasted several times, though Thomas Duroux lamented that he has very few bottles left at the property. The lovely bouquet of red berry fruit, dark chocolate, star anise and light iodine aromas gently unfolds from the glass, displaying a little more complexity than the 2001 Château Margaux that I tasted the same day. The palate is medium-bodied with a granular opening and a little ferrous in style, secondary notes percolating through the carapace of primary fruit. Tea leaves, allspice and black pepper define what feels like quite a robust finish, lacking the elegance that Palmer exhibits nowadays. Still, this is an excellent 2001 that probably deserves another 2–3 years in the cellar.Vinous Media | 93 VMAs with so many other wines from the 2001 vintage, this Palmer is classic Margaux. It has delicacy and elegance, but it also packs power, concentration and dark, dry flavors. Intense and concentrated, the richness of the high proportion of Merlot in Palmer’s blend shows through, while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives a fresh lift at the end.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WENo written review provided. | 93 W&SA virile, muscular effort for this estate, the 2001 Palmer (a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot) exhibits a saturated purple color to the rim. Although closed and backward, it is surprisingly powerful, layered, and formidably endowed, revealing hints of charcoal, black fruits, earth, and underbrush. There is a lot going on in this offering, but it needs 5-7 years of cellaring to resolve its high tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2022.Robert Parker | 90 RP

This stunning wine is one of the vintage’s great successes. Administrator Thomas Duroux has fashioned a modern day version of Palmer’s brilliant 1966. Displaying a rare combination of power and elegance, this dense purple-colored offering exhibits notes of blackberries, truffles, flowers, incense, and camphor. Long, classic, and medium to full-bodied with stunning texture and richness, this superb effort is a candidate for the finest Margaux of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025+. Robert Parker | 94 RPWell-integrated tannins and the first stirrings of tertiary flavours. Not quite ready to drink, but the rich swirl of blackberry, soft cedar and autumnal hedgerow is already clear. This is a slightly more traditional take on Margaux than recent vintages of Palmer, but it has a glorious sense of earthy pleasure. From the first year that Thomas Duroux arrived at the estate, though he did not get involved in winemaking until the 2005 vintage. Drinking Window 2019 - 2030.Decanter | 93 DECThis wine hits the opulent end of the spectrum, with its dense, velvet structure, and superrich fruit. But it is not weighed down with this richness, because the pure fruit, the fine lines of the tannins and the very precise character of the vanilla from the wood all give liveliness.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEDeep red. Rich aromas of plum, redcurrant, chocolate and smoke. Sweet, lush and smooth, with a wonderfully fine-grained texture for the year. Highly expressive flavors of currant, cedar, chocolate and tobacco. The wine’s subtle sweetness, suave tannins and sneaky persistence convey an impression of very regular ripeness.Vinous Media | 92 VMAromas of licorice, tar and mineral follow through to a full-bodied palate, with silky tannins and a medium finish. A very pretty wine already. Falls a little short, but still outstanding. Best after 2009. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS(Château Palmer) The 2004 Palmer is one of my favorite wines of the vintage that I have sampled from the couple dozen various châteaux that I have crossed paths with here in New York from the ’04 vintage. The wine is deep and nicely structured, but not overly extracted or inky (as is unfortunately the case with so many examples I have tasted of ’04 claret), as it offers up a stylish nose of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, soil tones and a deft framing of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is medium-full, focused and beautifully balanced, with firm, but well-integrated tannins, and lovely length and grip on the finish. A very stylish middleweight in the making. (Drink between 2014-2035)John Gilman | 90 JG

Beautiful ruby red colour, rapsberry puree and cocoa dusting aromatics, still young, a wonderfully embracing tannic frame, rapsberrry, blueberry and loganberry fruits, slate-scraping minerality, just a gorgeous wine that is bursting out of the glass and still has so much more to give. Balanced, mouthwatering, persistent, just at the start of its long and pleasure-filled life, showcasing so much that is wonderful about 2005. Get on board. This is a 2 point higher score than the last time I tasted in April 2021, reflecting that the 2005s are just right now beginning to open up.Jane Anson | 96 JATight and dense still but so integrated and seamless in texture. Aromas of chocolate, hazelnuts, dried spices and currants. Full body, superfine tannins and a texture that is so caressing and beautiful. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSTasted from an ex-château bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London, the 2005 Calon Segur is on par with the wonderful 2000. The only real difference is that this needs more time in bottle. It has a captivating nose: blackberry and boysenberry fruit coming at you at full pelt; dried blood and bacon fat developing as secondary aromas just behind. There is fine delineation here - an underlying mineralité sure to surface with time. The palate is very intense and disarmingly youthful, almost ferrous on the entry with layers of ripe black fruit that segue into an earthy finish (with a curious light tang of Marmite on the aftertaste!). It is a fabulous Calon Ségur, though the millennial wine might ultimately possess greater precision. We will see. Tasted March 2015.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 94 RP-NMHas a beautiful nose of crushed berry, spices and nutmeg, with a hint of coffee. Then turns to licorice. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and a long finish of vanilla, berry and cinnamon. Beautifully crafted. Best after 2014. 17,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSFirm and structured, the Calon-Ségur remains surprisingly muscular. Produced from a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and a splash of Petit Verdot, all aged in new casks, this shows a bright redcurrant and mint nose with a bit of spice and smoke. The feel on the palate is tannic and firm, perhaps lacking a bit of generosity at this point, but the rich extract suggests that with time it should come around. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 93 DEC(Château Calon-Ségur) The 2005 vintage at Calon-Ségur was comprised of more than fifty percent merlot, and while the wine is a good wine in its way, it lacks the brightness, soil signature and classic profile of the wines from 2006 forwards. The bouquet is deep, reserved and shows admirable depth in its constellation of dark berries, tobacco leaf, woodsmoke, espresso, herb tones, a touch of hoisin sauce, dark soil and nutty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with good purity at the rock solid core, firm tannins and excellent length and grip on the black fruity and still very youthful finish. Qualitatively, this is clearly the equivalent of the 2006, but I have a far stronger preference for the style of the latter vintage, as this is just missing a bit of spark from all of its merlot in the blend. A very good wine, but not a classic Calon-Ségur. (Drink between 2022-2050)John Gilman | 92 JGDeep, bright ruby-red. Deeply pitched aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, leather, smoked meat, earth and menthol. Chewy, brooding and deep, with concentrated black cherry, menthol, mineral and leather flavors framed by a powerful spine of acids and tannins. Really saturates the palate on the tannic back end. I’d give this classic St. Estephe a decade of aging, at which time this wine may well merit an even higher score.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

Its bigger sister, the 2005 Château Palmer (53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot), is one of the great efforts of this superlative vintage. Floral notes mixed with blackberry, cassis, plum, licorice and spring flowers soar from the glass of this dense ruby/purple wine. It is medium to full-bodied, surprisingly opulent (it has a big percentage of Merlot), long, multi-dimensional and textured. This wonderfully pure, stunning wine once again performs as a first-growth. It should drink well for the next 20-25 years.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 2005 Palmer has been absolutely magical both times I have tasted it recently. Still wonderfully deep to the core, the 2005 is dense, packed to the core and luxuriously opulent. Even with all of that intensity, the 2005 remains vibrant. Lush red/purplish berry fruit, rose petal, lavender and sweet spice build into the towering finish. The 2005 is an epic wine that will have no problem reaching its fiftieth birthday. It is a rich, dramatic Margaux that checks all the boxes, and then some. I rated a second bottle even higher.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGThe 2005 was the first vintage where Thomas Duroux was in charge from beginning to end, having worked alongside his predecessor Bertrand Bouteiller on most of the 2004. Another great vintage in this all-star line-up, and the one that perhaps had the most exuberant sunny expression in the early years, although now at 15 years of age the tertiary aromatics are just starting to arrive, along with hints of earthiness and a savoury cassis fruit character as the Cabernet Sauvignon continues to dominate. There is a gentle truffled edging to the colour also, but the tannic frame is very much in play, and still cradling the fruit. A great wine that walks the tightrope between young and old Palmer, and between the welcome of a generous vintage and the natural elegance of a great Palmer. Harvest September 22 to October 7. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045.Decanter | 97 DECNo written review provided | 96 W&SAromas of black tar, chocolate and berries lead to a wine that is so effortlessly delicious that it’s easy to forget the power the Merlot gives it. The center is round, but dark, filled with sweetness; the outer layers are full of red jelly and toast. There are tannins, but they, too, are sweet.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEWhat a nose of milk chocolate, with raspberries and hints of plums and flowers. A wonderful nose. Full-bodied, with super velvety tannins and a chocolate, nut, and dark fruit character on the palate. The fine tannins and great balance make you want to drink this, but you should wait and let it all out. Pull the cork in 2016.James Suckling | 94 JSFeatures a bright flash of bay leaf and savory out front, with streak of tobacco and cedar amid the relatively open core of black cherry and black currant fruit. The long finish has a terrific iron note ringing through. Among the more approachable of this group, but no less serious.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2030. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 1998 Palmer showed extremely well. Featuring blackberry, cedar and a touch of black olive on the nose, this has evolved a little since I last tasted it, yet it remains wonderfully defined. The palate is supple and concentrated, with touches of clove and black pepper infusing the black fruit, and gentle grip on the finish. I might actually afford this another year in bottle, but it probably represents good value vis-à-vis other vintages.Vinous Media | 94 VMA classic Margaux, the 1998 Palmer has put on weight and fleshed out during its elevage in barrel. It displays a dense purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of black fruits, licorice, melted asphalt, pain grille, and a touch of acacia flowers. Full-bodied, with brilliant definition, this blend of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a dollop of Petit Verdot, will age well for 20-30 years. It is one of the Medoc’s, as well as the Margaux appellation’s finest wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2028.Robert Parker | 91 RPMushroom, spice, earth and berry character on the nose. Medium- to full-bodied, with soft tannins and meaty, berry and cèpe flavors. Tannins are still a little angular. Give it a little time.--’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2010.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The 1989 Palmer has vied with the 1983 as the highlight of the decade, so it is fascinating to revisit it at 30 years old. It has a wonderful bouquet of degraded red berry fruit, singed leather and hints of game and mint, beautifully defined and still so fresh, yet undeniably old-school in style. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and still brimming with vigor, delivering a fine bead of acidity and a touch of cracked black pepper. A very detailed, engaging finish urges you back for another sip. A brilliant Palmer, and judging from this showing, it has another two decades of pleasure to give. Tasted from an ex-cellar bottle at the château.Vinous Media | 97 VMTasted 6 Times Since Bottling With Consistent NotesPalmer has done a magnificent job with their 1989, which continues to be a wine of immense seduction. The expansive, rich, fat texture owes its opulence to the high percentage of Merlot used by this property. Opaque deep ruby/purple, this full-bodied, satiny wine has considerable alcoholic clout, is low in acidity, but splendidly concentrated and abundantly full of velvety tannins. It will be fascinating to see if this wine ultimately rivals the great Palmers made in 1983, 1970, 1966, and 1961. This is a thrilling 1989! Anticipated maturity: Now-2012.Robert Parker | 96 RP(Château Palmer) At our vertical tasting in October of 2007, the ’89 was corked, so I have had to go back to a note on this wine that is a few years old. I have always liked the 1989 Palmer quite well, but have never ranked it quite in the same league as the greatest vintages of this château. The nose on the ’89 offers up scents of ripe plums, mulberries, dark chocolate, tobacco, minerals, violets and toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied and quite lush and voluptuous on the attack, with a firm tannic structure kicking-up in the mid-palate, and a long, complex and chewy finish. While there is plenty of depth in the mid-palate, I do not find quite the reserves of fruit at the core as found in vintages such as the 1983 at a similar stage of development. The tannins here are ripe and quite buried in the fruit, and while it is more than drinkable today, it clearly will need another decade to allow some of the secondary layers of complexity to emerge.John Gilman | 92+ JGDisplays impressive sweet berry and floral aromas, with hints of cedar and light new oak. Medium- to full-bodied, offering fine tannins and a fresh finish. This wine is just now opening, with a racy backbone of tannins and dark fruits on the finish. This is turning out to be more balanced than I remember. Ready.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.Wine Spectator | 92 WSI find this a little austere with mineral, tar, and currant character. It’s a little subdued. Full and silky on the palate, it’s firm and bright, even tight. Served from imperial bottle.James Suckling | 91 JS

The last in a series of three stellar vintages with the 1988-1989-1990, with this one delivering concentrated wines in its early years that took their time to develop but are now at the peak of their pleasure. At 30 years old it is not the power that immediately strikes but the aromatic complexity, and the gentle dance that it performs between finessed fruit and soft saffron-laced spices. The concentration comes in slowly, in waves, gathering cedar, menthol and finely spun tannins. It has been at this plateau for at least 10 years now, and there is no reason to think it is going anywhere for another decade or two. Harvest September 18 to October 6. Petit Verdot completes the blend with 2%, meaning all four main Médoc varieties here, unusually (all Cabernet Franc was pulled up in 2004). Drinking Window 2020 - 2038.Decanter | 96 DEC(Château Palmer (Margaux) served from magnum) I get the distinct feeling that I have not been drinking enough Château Palmer in recent times! This magnum of the 1990 Palmer was absolutely stunning, jumping from the glass in a beautiful blend of black cherries, mulberries, black truffles, cigar smoke, a fine base of dark soil tones, tobacco leaf and a well done framing of toasty new oak. On the palate the wines is pure, full-bodied and nicely sappy at the core, with extra depth and grip clearly apparent from the magnum format. The finish is very long, complex and still moderately tannic, with very buried tannins, a velvety palate texture and great lift and bounce on the backend. This is simply gorgeous in magnum! (Drink between 2019-2060)John Gilman | 94 JGThis was the finest bottle of the 1990 Palmer I have yet tasted, and it appears I slightly underrated it in earlier reviews. A complex bouquet of earth, blue and black fruits, licorice, incense, and spice box is followed by a round, silky, voluptuous wine that falls just short of achieving the depth and richness found in such recent vintages as 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2008. A very strong, fully mature effort, its balance, purity, depth, and texture suggest it will provide plenty of pleasure over the next 10-12 years.Robert Parker | 92 RPA beauty. Seductive, with currant, berry, tobacco, cedar and flowers on the nose. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. A joyous Palmer.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now through 2010. 16,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSSubdued but classy new-oaky nose hints at flowers, chocolate, and cinnamon. A spicy, beautifully delineated wine of great class and hidden depths. Very subtle, long aftertaste. A crowd-pleaser. The ’90 is more typical for this château than the fatter but more alcoholic and soft ’89.Vinous Media | 91 VM