Château Palmer Tasting in Oxford (9 January 2013)

[of7271]

Hello all,

Forgive my absence, but quite a bit has happened since we all met at BWE 2012 in Washington last spring. I've now found myself back in the UK where I'm completing my graduate work in International Politics at the University of Edinburgh. Only after briefly arriving here in October, I was recruited to participate in the official university blind tasting team and we will be going against the University of St Andrews in early March during the annually-held competition hosted by Pol Roger, which has now been running for a decade following on the tradition of the Oxford/Cambridge match. (Tonight we will be training as a team with Bordeaux-blends, no less!) Indeed, Pol Roger will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Oxford v. Cambridge Blind Wine Tasting Competition at Bonhams Auction House in London next month with Hubert de Billy, which I've been invited to (I wonder what they have in store for us to sample). As most of you know, I competed for Oxford in 2011 and while we didn't win that year, it will always be a memorable experience and certainly made me become a better wine taster!

Anyway, I was just down in Oxford earlier this month to see some friends as well as attend the first tasting of the new year with the Oxford Wine Circle (http://oxfordwinecircle.co.uk/index.html). The Wine Circle is Oxford's oldest and most prestigious society (there are two others within the university) and over the years, there have been a number of extraordinary producers that have conducted tastings with the society (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Uni ... ine_Circle). Just last academic year alone, the society hosted dinners with Château Margaux, Château d'Yquem, and Anthony Barton of Château Leoville/Langoa-Barton as well as tastings with Eric Lebel of Krug and David Pearson of Opus One, all conducted by my good friend William Kelley, who is the current president of the society.

For the tasting I attended earlier this month, Bernard de Laage de Meux, who is the marketing and communication director of Château Palmer, presented wines from the storied Margaux classified growth. As you can imagine, the tasting was rather popular and was over-subscribed from the moment it was announced most likely due to the notable British connection to the estate. Given that I'm still a student, Palmer is a wine that is often inaccessible to me as a result of its price point, so I was very pleased that I had a chance to attend!

After a rather detailed history of the estate, with particular emphasis that Palmer tends to have unusually high percentage of Merlot for a Left Bank wine, which some say contributes to its "lush and hedonistic personality", we began tasting.

2006 Alter Ego
Palmer's second wine has consistently gotten high marks over the years and I was impressed with two vintages we had of Alter Ego. I was surprised to see that in appearance in my glass, color was beginning to slightly change for the 2006 vintage although it was still a vibrant violet color. On the nose, I got a hint of burnt vanilla spice, floral notes (typical of Margaux), along with ripe plum and raspberry. On the palate, the wine had high acidity but was very supple with moderate tannins and tasted of fresh plum and black cherry with an elegant but medium-length finish. I've always been a fan of the 2006 vintage as the Left Bank wines I've had from that year are already pleasant and accessible even at this young age.

2009 Alter Ego
Wow. This was my first experience with the glorious '09 vintage. My first impressions were that the wine had a power and intensity one would associate with '05 but a certain complexity that I read about with the legendary '82s and '61s. In appearance, the wine was a dark violet color. While the wine is still closed, on the nose I got forest floor, floral notes, pine needle, ceder, blackcurrant, and loads of ripe plum. On the palate, the wine was feeling hot to me and the first thing I was struck with was the intensity of the tannins and acidity. Flavor wise, I got game meat and ripe red fruit such as plum and blackberry but with a finesse that one would immoderately associate with Margaux. Around me at the tasting, there was a consensus that the palate was much more interesting than the nose, perhaps suggesting its youthful age and the fact that it was still quite closed. I guess I've bought into the '09 hype!

2007 Château Palmer
Obviously not a great vintage for the Left Bank and this wine was more of a disappointment considering its Palmer pedigree. In appearance, the wine was a medium violet color and on the nose, the wine smelled of ripe plum, forest floor, and wet stone. On the palate, the wine tasted of green peppers, fresh blackberry, and fresh plum with moderate, integrated tannins and acidity with a medium-length finish.

2005 Château Palmer
On appearance, the wine was a medium violet color and on the nose, there was a very beautiful harmonious balance of dark red fruit (plum and raspberry came to mind), minerality, and forest floor with a slight hint of a floral note to wrap those wonderful aromas up. On the palate, the wine is still young and fresh and tasted of very ripe blackberry, fresh raspberry and plum with a hint of dark chocolate. The wine still has full-bodied tannins and high acidity but with a depth and intensity that the '05s seem to be notable for. On the finish, the wine was intense and held this taster's attention for its length. It could benefit with at least another two decades of age!

2001 Château Palmer
Like the '06 vintage, I've always been a fan of '01s, which I've always felt has been an underrated vintage. In fact, one of the most memorable wines of the '01 vintage I've tasted in the past is that of Château Langoa-Barton. The '01 Palamer certainly confirmed my favoritism towards the vintage. In appearance, the wine was a dark ruby color and on the nose, I detected floral notes and red fruit such as raspberry, cranberry, and fresh plum with a smokey/Earthy element as well. On the palate, the wine has decent acidity and tastes of ripe plum, raspberry, and blackberry that is extremely fruit-forward. While the wine's finish was medium-length, it was very elegant and charming with well-integrated tannins at this point in its life.

1999 Château Palmer
I too like 1999 Left Bankers and I've found that the wines from that year are drinking well now. For me, this was the wine of the night and I was immediately charmed by its elegance. On appearance, the wine is beginning to turn to a more ruby color. On the nose, the floral note that I associate with Margaux was in abundance along with fresh but lush plum, blackcurrant, ceder, pine needle, vanilla spice, and pencil shavings/graphite. On the palate, the wine was rather full-bodied and tasted of ripe red fruits (plum, raspberry) that is extremely well integrated with tannins and acidity. The wine has a lovely fruit-forward but charming and elegant finish. While intense in the front and mid-palates, it has a certain seductive quality that I love in Margaux wines.

1995 Château Palmer
I've only had this vintage with two other classified growths in the past: Château Calon-Ségur (Saint-Estèphe) and Château Malescot St. Exupéry (Margaux) so I was extremely interested in comparing the Palmer to those two wines. On appearance, the wine was a medium ruby color with a bit of sediment in my sample glass. On the nose, the wine smells of lush red fruit (raspberry and plums come to mind), a hint of chocolate and floral notes, and some pine needle. On the palate, the wine still felt fresh and tasted of crushed plum, raspberry jam, and a hint of strawberry with well integrated tannins and acidity. It had a lovely elegant finish that I very much enjoyed although I preferred the '99 as the wine of the night.

-Omar

[JCNorthway]

Thanks for sharing your experience and observatins. Wish they had wine tasting competitions where I went to school! Great opportunity.

[dbg]

Thanks for catching us up on your adventures Omar. I agree with Jon, where's the jealous emoticon?

[JimHow]

Great stuff Omar. I have no doubt 1999 Palmer was the wine of the night.

[robertgoulet]

YES!!!!

Alter Ego is LOVE...nuff said...good night

[JimHow]

I've always been a fan of the 2006 vintage as the Left Bank wines I've had from that year are already pleasant and accessible even at this young age.

Amen!

[AlexR]

Hi Omar,

Great to see you back on the board and I'm sure you had a wonderful time at the Palmer tasting.

I came to New York a couple of years ago and friends (virtual and otherwise) and I got together for a wine dinner on the them of "Bordeaux from Politically Incorrect Vintages".

The wine I brought with me was 99 Palmer. It shone that evening .

You might want to check out Tom Cannavan's UK Wine Pages. Tom is located in Scotland (Edinburgh?) and this would be a great way for you to meet up with some of the guys.

All the best,
Alex R.

[pomilion]

Mmmmmm, loves me some '99 Palmer. Wish I'd bought a few cases when it was decently-priced in the early 2000s. Something I kick myself over with some regularity...

[JonoB]

99 Palmer is WOTV no??
Fantastic stuff...