Chateau Palmer 2018

A gentleman, officer, and aide-de-camp of the Prince of Wales, Charles Palmer was famous at the English court as a ladies man and for his military victories. He fell under the spell of Bordeaux as well as the charms of Marie de Gascq, a beautiful widow who convinced him to buy her estate.

Charles Palmer devoted a great deal of time, energy, and money to developing his property. The Major General lived mainly in England, and so the estate was managed by his authorized representative, Mr Grey, who helped to increase the wine's reputation among wealthy connoisseurs.

In June 1853, the brothers Isaac and Emile Pereire, famous bankers and rivals of the Rothschilds, bought Palmer and began investing in the estate immediately. However, there was not enough time to bring Chateau Palmer up to first growth status in time for the famous 1855 classification. It was thus ranked a Third Growth, although it is widely recognized as among the greatest wines of Bordeaux.

100 Points - Decanter

Upfront flavours major on big bitter chocolate with touches of smoke and grilled cedar, lots of savoury fruits and touches of reduction. Extremely impressive how layered and textured it is, though it really needs decades to reveal itself. There is the seductive floral edge of Palmer as it opens in the glass, but this is a muscular wine that needs time.

100 Points - Vinous

The 2018 Palmer is a legend in the making. I had an inkling out of barrel, but such was its intensity that I wanted to assess it in bottle before I felt confident in saying so, because this could have gone either way. It storms from the glass with black fruit and floral scents, crushed violet and incense that knock your senses sideways while retaining brilliant delineation and focus. 

99+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck

This blockbuster boasts a dense purple hue as well as a primordial bouquet of black cherries, mulberries, and blackberries intermixed with freshly crushed rocks, smoke tobacco, gravelly earth, lead pencil shavings, and burning embers. With full-bodied richness, a dense, stacked mid-palate, mouth coating tannin's, and a blockbuster of a finish, it's going to need 10-15 years to hit maturity, and as I wrote last year, will live for just about forever.

99 Points - Wine Enthusiast

This dense wine is almost black in color. Offering tannins and luscious black fruits, it is ripe with both structure and richness. The concentration and thought-provoking intensity are impressive.

98 Points - Wine Spectator

98 Points - James Suckling

97+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate