Château Palmer 2012

Château Palmer is one of the vintage’s superstars. Opaque purple, with a gorgeous nose of blueberry, blackberry fruit, licorice, incense and graphite, the wine has a multi-dimensional, skyscraper-like richness, stunningly well-integrated acidity, tannin, wood, and alcohol, a finish of close to 45 seconds and a full-bodied mouthfeel. This is a great wine from Margaux in 2012 and one of the vintage’s most remarkable efforts. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2040+. The final blend was 48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot.

Offers a lovely velvety feel, with plum sauce, red currant paste and lilac notes melded together. Subtle but persistent toast accents everything, with an inlaid iron hint hanging in the background. Shows range, weight and length, with all the elements draping nicely on the finish. Approachable now, exhibiting good mouthfeel, but this could benefit from time in the cellar. Best from 2017 through 2025. 7,500 cases made.

Rich, generous, plummy fruit, with concentrated flavour and considerable tannin that makes its development an unknown quantity. Will all the elements marry? Keep for five years and hope.

This is mind-blowing with complex and superb aromas of dried flowers, blackcurrants and raspberries. Full-bodied, yet polished and velvety with lots of tension and intensity. Layers of fruit and character. Finishes with pure fruit, hazelnuts and minerals. About 20 hectares of 55 hectares were from biodynamically grown grapes. Try in 2022. Stunning.

48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot from a wet vintage that is drinking well now in many instances. Shaded blackish crimson. A bit cool and austere at first though a lovely perfume developed in the glass and the build is impressive. This is a wine that may inspire a new acronym: NFN (= nice for now). (JR)

The 2012 Palmer is silky, voluptuous and beautifully layered in the glass. Black cherry, plum, mocha, bittersweet chocolate and dark spices flesh out in a decidedly opulent, racy Palmer built on pure texture. Silky tannins round out the polished, suave finish. The 2012s at Palmer are made from unusually low yields of around 28 hectoliters per hectare. One of the effects of the 2011 hailstorm that hit the estate was a lowering of the following year's crop, which has resulted in rich, tannic wines. Estate Manager Thomas Duroux opted to give the 2012s more time in barrel than is customary and the wines were bottled in September 2014.

Silky, sensuous and earthy, the wine is elegant, polished and long, leaving you with sweet, ripe, fresh blackberries and plums that expand and gain in complexity as they sit on your palate.

Youthful and pure, with dark inky fruit, cassis, licorice, cherry and plum, very nice structure, ripe tannins and a long, lingering finish, good depth and length.

The 2012 Palmer showed beautifully, with the elegance and purity this cuvée is known for front and center. Offering lots of crème de cassis, licorice, smoked earth, and a hint of spring flowers, it has medium- to full-bodied richness, a balanced, graceful texture, plenty of tannin, and a great finish. This is one of those wines that grows on you with time in the glass and is going to evolve gracefully on its purity and balance.

48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot. Yield only 28 hl/ha. About 100,000 bottles. Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. Hellish cassis bouquet, lots of licorice, black tea, showing deep spice while also displaying refined yet dramatic Merlot power on the nose. On the palate, the wine stays entirely on black fruits, with plenty of juiciness in the tannins and a regal astringency, finishing with dried banana aromas. As the former cellar master of Latour, Jean‑Paul Gardère, used to say: “If a wine smells of banana – it’s a great wine!” He was right with his banana theory!

48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot. Yield only 28 hectoliters per hectare. About 100,000 bottles of Palmer. Extremely dark purple with lilac and violet highlights. Hellish cassis bouquet, lots of licorice, black tea, showing deep spice and at the same time a refined, dramatic Merlot power on the nose. On the palate, the wine remains entirely black-berried, with plenty of juiciness in the tannins and a regal astringency, with dried banana aromas on the finish. As the former Latour cellar master Jean-Paul Gardère used to say: “If a wine smells of banana – it’s a great wine!” He was right with his banana theory! (19/20). 20: Brightening garnet, fine rim on the edge. Red to blue-berried bouquet, floral touches, still seems fresh and appears to be still in its fruit phase. On the second pass, a fine sweetness comes through, conveying a hint of licorice, roasted notes, and caramel. Substantial palate, fairly dense, black currant and elderberry. Thus it feels darker-fruited on the palate than on the nose. The finish is very pleasant. This subtle Margaux will soon enter its first drinking window. Young drinkers will already take pleasure in it. I think it can still gain a nuance over the next few years and edge back toward the barrel-sample score (19/20). (18/20).

(48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 28 hl/ha) Dense, deep, elegant, velvety, Burgundy-style bouquet: cassis, black cherries, tobacco, fine woods, truffle, licorice, cereal notes, currants, banana. Balanced, elegant, dense, multilayered, finely textured palate with dense, precise fruit, an elegant, clear structure, plenty of fine tannins, a varied, powerful aromatics profile, and a very long, aromatic, refined finish with excellent afterflavors. 19/20 2020 - 2045

The annual release of 10-year-old Château Palmer, and this time it’s an often-underrated but delicious vintage that sits in the shadow of the most prestigious years of the past decade. Proof of how slowly this wine ages, it’s packed with blueberry and cassis fruits, a shot of mint leaf, mandarin peel, sage and dark chocolate, with shoulders and a serious architecture, bigger than you might expect for a vintage with such an easy-drinking, gourmand reputation. I last tasted this vintage around eight months ago and it has opened up further since then, often the case as wines shift around the decade mark, and this is an upscore. A moment when Palmer was fully committing to biodynamic farming, doubling its coverage to almost 15 hectares, and had just unveiled a new cellar. Harvest October 1 to 15, Sabrina Pernet technical director, Thomas Duroux director. 68% new oak. No rush to drink, and it has many decades ahead, but you can start thinking about it.

A blend of 48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2012 Palmer is medium to deep garnet-purple colored. It explodes from the glass with a provocative perfume of stewed black plums, boysenberry preserves, and licorice, with suggestions of Chinese five spice, dried roses, and sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate is coated with black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, supported by velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with epic length.

In 2012, Palmer is quite dense and structured, with a touch of tannic firmness and lovely concentration. The Cabernets are a bit firm and will need time. Palmer was hit by hail the previous year.

Logo on the cork: DF Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Superb complex nose, subtle and floral, with a touch of blackcurrant. Immediately nuanced from the attack, this wine commendably holds steady mid-palate before melting into a lovely texture and a subtle, noble, juicy whole. Once again, the persistence builds on the finish and concludes with complexity on a fine grain.

With great depth of fruit, this plush, ripe wine also has dense tannins for aging, layers of acidity and a tight structure. However, it's the fruit that makes this wine, with its waves of black currants and aromatic blueberries. The wood just touches the flavors to promise serious aging. Drink from 2022.