The opaque blue/purple-colored 2011 Palmer reveals a stunning bouquet of licorice, truffles, camphor, spring flowers, black raspberries and black currants. One of the superstars of the vintage, this brilliant 2011 possesses superb concentration and purity, medium to full body, and remarkable length of close to a minute. A tour de force in winemaking, the Palmer team merits accolades for achieving this level of quality in a more challenging vintage than either 2009 or 2010. The “wine of the vintage” in Margaux, tiny yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare, a final blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a severe selection (only 55% of the production made it into Palmer) are the reasons for this success.Robert Parker | 96 RPA wine with currants and mineral character on the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied, with silky, polished tannins and a long finish. Very tight and refined now. Tannic. Palmer only made 20 hectoliters of wine a hectare. Like a tightly wound ball of cashmere thread. Try in 2020.James Suckling | 95 JSA serious and concentrated wine that is one of the stars of the vintage. With its tight tannins and a considerable sense of structure, it shows a dark and dense side. It’s full in the mouth, black plum skins and intense acidity giving a lilt of freshness at the end. Drink from 2019.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEA hail storm at the end of June damaged 90% of the vineyard so this is a small yield at 21hl/ha - the lowest since 1961 (until 2018). The reduced crop translates into powerful cassis and rosemary spice flavours but the cooler weather in July and August means the fruit is more restrained in character than expected, and you see that here at 10 years on. It’s fairly serious in style, not an exuberant vintage and I would suggest giving it another three or four years in bottle before it really reaches its drinking window. As it opens, it shows spiced plum and blueberry, touches of liquorice root and wisps of smoke - all of these things that indicate a fresher rather than a hugely solar vintage, and one that is going to age with elegance and finesse. One of the very few Palmers without Petit Verdot, but spice is still one of the dominant notes.Decanter | 94 WE(Château Palmer) The 2011 Château Palmer is unquestionably the finest wine in the commune this year, as it is a step up from the 2011 Château Margaux in quality. It was produced from yields of only twenty hectoliters per hectares and is a very tannic and backward vintage of Palmer, but it will be stunning in the fullness of time. The great nose offers up scents of mulberries, black cherries, cigar smoke, a lovely and complex base of soil tones, dried violets and nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure, with an almost silky sensation on the attack, a superb core of fruit, and a very, very long, firmly tannic and perfectly balanced finish. These are serious tannins and they will take plenty of time to resolve, but they are very fine-grained for the vintage and beautifully integrated into the body of the wine. A long distance runner, the 2011 Palmer is one of the best wines to be found on the Left Bank this year. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 93+ JGOffers a range of charcoal, bay and dark licorice notes out front, backed by an ample core of steeped blackberry and black currant fruit. The charcoal-studded finish has serious grip and pleasantly layered flesh. Should unwind in the cellar, but needs time. Trust it. Best from 2017 through 2030.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2011 Palmer has a delineated, focused, razor-sharp bouquet with blackberry and bilberry scents, demonstrated more mineralité than its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, moderate depth, straightlaced and uncomplicated with satisfying freshness and grip on the finish. Not memorable, but certainly well-crafted and might improve with continued bottle age. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.Vinous Media | 91 VM
