2015 chateau palmer 3eme cru classe, margaux
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Why We're Buying
Most châteaux produce a grand vin and a second wine. Not Château Palmer. It has two labels, one named after the winery and another called Alter Ego de Palmer. While the red wines use the same terroir, they require different winemaking techniques and proportions. This ingenuity is a testament to the creativity and quality that has made Château Palmer a staple of Margaux.
Critics Scores
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bottled 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.
Wine Enthusiast
Generous, 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.
James Suckling
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.
Decanter
It's very interesting to watch a 'super-second' risk scaling back the muscular attributes of its wine. The key, says director Thomas Duroux, was building the blend carefully and using the press wines to preserve the mid-palate (12 press in this wine, around the same as the 2015). It's less powerful and concentrated than the last few vintages, and yet the wine feels sculpted and sewn into place. The fine tannins are extremely clear and precise, and there's a purity of fruit expression that gives an overwhelming initial impression. The aromatics are really striking, offering an abundance of violet notes on the nose with huge finesse. It just gets better and better in the mouth,, and the tannins do that slow-build thing that is so disarming. This has clear ageing potential. Very low SO2 use for the past few years, in keeping with their biodynamic principles. Just one plot of Petit Verdot for the grand vin was hit by frost. Harvested 20-29 September. 11,000 cases of Palmer, representing 55 of the crop.
Jeb Dunnuck
One 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.
Wine Spectator
This 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.