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1996 Château Palmer, Margaux, Bordeaux

  • Red
  • Dry
  • Full Bodied
  • Cabernet Sauvignon (55%),Merlot (40%),Cabernet Franc (4%),Petit Verdot (1%)
Ready - at best
Neal Martin MW
91/100
Product: 19968004309
1996 Château Palmer, Margaux, Bordeaux

Description

The sensuous, generous dollop of 40 % Merlot that went into this I think is what makes this so exquisite and beguiling. Warm, sweet red fruit with a hint of vanilla leading you to a palate which is plump and fleshy but elegant and sophisticated. It really reminds of a top Grand Cru Burgundy from a great year with its purity and grace. Please don't be put off if you read words like "elegant" to mean thin and lacking flavour as it can often mean in wine terms. Quite the contrary here, this is jam packed full of oomph and the finish is 3 to 4 minutes long. If its a small Christmas Day or New Years Eve gathering this year for you ( or you are an incredibly generous host/hostess and having the hordes in!) and you want something that will tick all the boxes ( and some boxes you hadn't even known you had) you wont be disappointed and you will certainly have a very happy Christmas.

Simon Staples, Berrys' Fine Wine Director (November 2009)

Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 1996
Alcohol % 12.5
Maturity Ready - at best
Grape List Cabernet Sauvignon (55%),Merlot (40%),Cabernet Franc (4%),Petit Verdot (1%)
Body Full Bodied
Producer Château Palmer

Critics reviews

Neal Martin MW 91/100
Tasted at the Chteau Palmer vertical in London, the 1996 Chteau Palmer is a wine that never quite fulfilled its potential. There is satisfactory fruit intensity on the nose, blackberry and truffle, a touch of vanilla and violet developing with time in the glass. The palate still feels a little backward, but there is good grip and freshness. This is a harmonious 1996 Margaux and yet it feels conservative and straight-laced on the tobacco-infused finish. It is quite a serious Palmer, yet it does not quite back it up in terms of complexity or, for want of a better word, soul. Good...but you end up wanting more, especially having tasted the likes of 2000, 2005 and 2010 alongside. Tasted May 2015.Neil Martin - 30/05/2016
Neal Martin MW, (May 2016)

About this wine

Cabernet Sauvignon

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
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Château Palmer

Château Palmer is a leading wine estate in Margaux. Within its appellation, Palmer is certainly the closest rival to its first growth neighbor, Ch. Margaux. Although officially ranked a Third Growth, at their best, the wines of Ch. Palmer are among the greatest anywhere in Bordeaux.
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