Château Palmer 2016 - REL 2026 ex Château 3e Cru Classé, Margaux AC, MC

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Product number: n32531

Château Palmer 2016
- REL 2026 ex Château 3e Cru Classé, Margaux AC, MC

Rating in the 100-point quality scale: 100
Quality information: REL 2026

ASL	American Strip Label (additional mandatory label for the US wine market)
BL	Bad Label (beschädigte/verschmutzte Etikette)
BS	Bottom Shoulder (high risk)
CC	Cut Capsule
CSL	Canadian Strip Label
FB	Foreign Bottling
GS	Glue Strip (visible strip of old adhesive, because labels used to be affixed only selectively or in strips, not over the entire surface.)
HF	High Fill (or mid neck: normal fill level)
HS	High Shoulder (natural loss in wines over twenty years old, perfect in those over forty years old)
IN	Into Neck oder Base Neck (good fill level, exceptional for wines aged ten years or older)
LG	Lange Goldkapsel
LMS	Low-Mid Shoulder (increased risk)
LS	Low Shoulder (high risk)
MS	Mid Shoulder
NC	No Capsule
NL	No Label
NNL	No Neck Label
OC	Oxidised Capsule
REC	Recondiotionné (recorked at the château + indication of the year)
REL	Release (year of release from château/winery)
SBL	Slightly Bad Label
SOL	Signs of Leaking
TS	Top Shoulder (standard for twenty-year-old wines)
VTS	Very Top Shoulder (normal for wines aged fifteen years and older)

CHF 290.00

Prices excl. 8,1% VAT plus shipping costs

Availability: 48 bts. available | content: 75 cl

Wine available as single bottles can be found here

Ratings & tasting notes

100

Antonio Galloni

Vinous

Technical Director Thomas Duroux and his team made one of the most brilliant wines of the 2016 vintage. Palmer is simply exceptional. Rich and dramatically sweeping in the glass, the 2016 is breathtaking. All the elements simply fall into place in a wine mesmerizing beauty. The counterpoint of dark, sumptuous fruit and floral notes makes for an utterly compelling Palmer that will take its place among the estate's finest vintages. Dark cherry, lavender, spice and mocha are some of the many notes that bu into a deep, substantial finish that is truly unforgettable. In a word: magnificent! 01/2019

Neil Martin

Vinous

The 2016 Palmer has an exquisite bouquet with gushing violet petals infusing the black fruit, very well defined, certainly one of the most opulent Left Bank wines. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannins, sweet but never cloying, the acidity maintaining tension, with plenty of spice surging through on the finish. Superb. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year-On tasting in London. 06/2026

100

Jeb Dunnuck

Jeb Dunnuck

The finest vintage I’ve ever tasted from this estate, surpassing the 2009 and 2010, the 2016 Château Palmer is a blend of 47% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with the balance Petit Verdot, all of which was brought up in 65% new French oak. This magical effort reveals a saturated purple color as well as a huge nose of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, and spring flowers, and it develops beautifully with time in the glass. Full-bodied, deep, incredibly concentrated and powerful, it nevertheless just glides over the palate with flawless purity and balance, present, ripe tannins, and a finish that just won’t quit. This is Bordeaux at its most regal and classic. It will be drinkable with just 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for half a century. 03/2019

James Suckling

James Suckling

Tar, smoke, dark chocolate, dark berries, tobacco, and earth on the nose. Precise, focused tannins and dark fruit on the palate. Compact yet expressive, showing attractive harmony. Layered and persistent. Approachable with some aeration, but will benefit from continued aging. Drink or hold. 10 Years On retrospective. 02/2026

Jane Anson

Inside Bordeaux

Love the rosebud and peony character, very much majoring on a floral-strewed openier, liquorice bud, cassis, bilberry, cigar box, dried cranberry and elderflower, graphite and gunsmoke, concentrated and powerful, full of appellation and estate signature. 60% new oak. 01/2026

100

Roger Voss

Wine Enthusiast

Powerful tannins and hugely rich fruit balance together in this superb wine. The velvet texture belies the power behind the concentrated, ripe black-fruit flavor, with vibrant acidity giving ample lift. The wine's structure will ensure aging for many years. Drink from 2024. 05/2019

Description

The 2016 vintage at Château Palmer will be remembered above all for the exceptional quality of its two wines. The year began with an unusually mild winter, bringing Merlot budbreak around a week earlier than normal, before conditions changed dramatically. A cool and exceptionally wet spring created significant mildew pressure, with 130 millimetres of rain falling between May 20 and June 20 alone. For the biodynamically farmed estate, these were among the most demanding conditions in recent years.Despite the challenges, flowering took place under favourable conditions. July and August then brought a prolonged dry period, helping to concentrate the fruit but further slowing an already delayed growing cycle. By early August, ripening remained incomplete. On September 13, 37 millimetres of rain finally arrived, providing the vineyards with much-needed water. No further rain fell before harvest, which began on October 3, one of the latest starts in the estate’s history. Yields were relatively modest, but the aromatic intensity of the grapes was extraordinary.Château Palmer 2016 combines concentration, freshness and remarkable elegance. The blend of 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot possesses considerable depth and structure, with particularly impressive tannins. Powerful yet perfectly ripe, they provide the wine with energy and definition while remaining beautifully polished. The palate already reveals the velvety texture that has become one of Palmer’s defining characteristics. Its balance differs from that of some earlier great vintages, with the tannic structure playing an especially prominent role. A compelling Margaux of exceptional aromatic intensity, refined power and remarkable finesse, Château Palmer 2016 has the structure to evolve gracefully for decades, with an ageing potential from 2030 to 2070.

Country:	France
Region:	Bordeaux
Producer/appellation:	Margaux
Wine type:	Red wines
Year:	2016
Content:	75 cl
Organic/bio dynamic:	Yes
Quality information:	REL 2026