Chateau Palmer vertical in NYC

1975 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Good fruit with a sweet note, hard blocky tannins, long acidic finish. High toned teeth coating tannins. Nicely complex and minty. Has some years left on it, but not getting any better.
B/B+

1978 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Soft, warm, long finish. Broad, pleasant. Nicely mature, drinking well. I wouldn't hold much longer.
B++


1982 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Broad & soft. Sweet profile with menthol and a sharp acidic middle.
B/B+

1985 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Good complexity, full, big. Acidic backbone. Smooth. Menthol & olive. Very nice.
B+/A-


1961 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Wow. Light, ethereal, tobacco notes and wonderful complexity. Very very long finish. Blossoms in the mouth. Floral, soft, beautiful. Fresh, light, amazing. A unique experience. About as good a wine as I've ever had. Will last decades longer.
A+

1970 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Nice maturity. Full with a sweet middle and some firm acidic structure that doesn't overwhelm. Solid wine, if a little high toned acidity. Very nice.
A-

1983 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Smooth, suave, sweet, classy. Full fruit, brawny, menthol. Lots going on. Just coming of age. A beautiful wine with good strength and fabulous subtlety.
A


1990 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Sweet, smooth, dense, lush. Gorgeous low acid wine. Some black olive. Soft, a bit overdone but very nice.
B+/A-

1998 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Clear, clean, strong with good backbone. Mint and menthol with herbal notes, but mostly a brawny smooth young wine.
B+


2004 Château Palmer XIX Century Blend - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Soft with a firmness. Acidic, sweet baking spices. More firm (and better) than the 2004 Palmer. This wine has a dose of syrah.
B/B+

2004 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Clove, sweet spice, a bit flabby with acidic notes. This wine seemed a completely different animal than previous vintages.
B

2002 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Burnt oak, sweet, glycerine. Rich but firm. Very young and probably not showing everything.
B/B+


1986 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Still very young. Sweet with some bubblegum and a bit of caramel. Nice, but hold.
B+

Wow, thanks for notes. Sounds like a great night. '61 Palmer! One of my "hope I try before I die" wines.

The first time I tried the '83, I thought good but not great. But since I had a bottle that showed me what all the hype was about, great wine.

Wow, thanks for notes. Sounds like a great night. '61 Palmer! One of my "hope I try before I die" wines.

No doubt!

Thanks for the notes Matt!

The '61 was certainly a wine to aspire to try before you die. Grown men were weeping at the taste of it.

I completely agree about the 1983. I recall being less than thrilled at two or three separate tastings. This is the first time it has wow-ed me. Considering the competition during that flight, I think it is doubly impressive.

I completely agree about the 1983. I recall being less than thrilled at two or three separate tastings. This is the first time it has wow-ed me. Considering the competition during that flight, I think it is doubly impressive.

I think we might have tasted the '83 together at least once (Margaux tasting in East Midtown, Arv arranged?). But when it's on that's one beautiful wine.

You're right, Dale. That tasting left me unimpressed (I recall liking the '86 Rausan Segla that night). I later had two different unimpressive bottles at another offline at Perigord.

[Jenise]

Matt, a friend of mine knows a guy who claims to have the largest collection of '61 Palmers on the planet. I know it's a great wine but I have still wondered why someone would want ALL of it. Your TN possibly answered that question.

Matt, a friend of mine knows a guy who claims to have the largest collection of '61 Palmers on the planet. I know it's a great wine but I have still wondered why someone would want ALL of it. Your TN possibly answered that question.

Jenise,

Women dig '61 Palmer. But you know that!!!