Alter Ego de Palmer 2019

VertdeVin

The nose is fruity and offers minerality, freshness, a nice dynamic and a nice concentration in finesse and depth. There are notes of ripe boysenberry, crushed wild blackcurrant and a hint of liquorice combined with hints of camphor, ripe red berries and a hint of spice, cardamom, a hint of star anise/almost eucalyptus and a subtle touch of pepper. The palate is elegant, balanced and offers nice definition, precision, freshness, guideline, minerality and dynamism. On the palate this wine expresses notes of black cherry/cherry, juicy blackcurrant and more slightly raspberry combined with hints of red plum, liquorice/zan, fine points of racy minerality/Margaux gravel, chocolate, almost caramelisation as well as a subtle hint of cardamom, tea, blueberry, Madagascar pepper and a very discreet hint of roast (in the background). The tannins already offer a certain mellowness and chewiness. A floral hint on the finish.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Aromas of sweet cherries, raspberries, berry fruit liqueur, licorice and spices introduce the 2019 Alter Ego de Palmer, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping wine with lively acids, melting tannins and a lavish core of ripe, creamy fruit. It's more immediate than the more muscular, powerful grand vin.

Thomas Duroux continues to produce singularly textural, powerful wines at this historic Margaux property, where he has introduced a new focus on parcel-by-parcel viticulture and vinification, as well as pioneering biodynamic methods, over the better part of the last two decades. Today, cover crops are the order of the day, much of the vineyard isn't hedged, and fruit trees are being planted in the rows as part of an agroforestry initiative. The core of Palmer derives from the plateau around the château, where soils consist of a millefeuille of sandy gravel, clay-rich gravel, sandy gravel again, and then a meter of pure clay; and it's old-vine Merlot, planted on these soils, that lends Palmer its richness and flesh. There are other parcels dotted around the appellation, of course, including a large block of coarser gravel surrounded by trees, not far from Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre.

Jeb Dunnuck

The second wine of Château Palmer, the 2019 Alter Ego De Palmer is rock-solid and reveals a dense purple hue as well as deep, rich, concentrated aromas and flavors of ripe black cherries, blackcurrants, tobacco, graphite, and chocolate. It might be the richest, most concentrated second wine out here, and truthfully, it tastes like a Grand Vin. Medium to full-bodied, layered, and textured, it has ripe tannins, a fleshy, mouth-filling texture, and a great finish. It's beautifully done.

James Suckling

Intense aromas of blackcurrants, cedar and ripe tobacco with hints of violets, following through to a full-bodied palate with extremely refined tannins that are well-integrated into the wine and are long and subtle at the finish. Such precision and harmony with structure. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best after 2023.

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Falstaff

Andreas Larsson - Tasted