This is very concentrated yet soft and fresh in texture. Full-bodied and round and mouth-filling. So impressive how it fills your mouth yet remains fresh. It’s so framed.
This perfumed wine has a high percentage of ripe Petit Verdot that gives extra structure to the generous fruit core. The acidity is intense, complementing the delicious black-cherry fruitiness. It's an exuberant, but balanced, wine.
The 2016 Alter Ego represents a fairly big departure is style from what has been the norm in recent vintages. Bright red stone fruit, tobacco, flowers and herbs. The combination of less Merlot and naturally lower alcohol are among the factors that have contributed to an especially silky, perfumed Alter Ego built on considerable finesse.
Palmer lost 20% of its crop in the spring, and the Merlot was affected more than the Cabernet so there is only around half as much Alter Ego as normal. The yield here is 29hl/ha, so a lot less than most of Margaux, mainly due to vineyard rebalancing after moving to biodynamics and the spring crop loss. The harvest start date of 3rd October was the latest on record, following on from a very long, slow ripening leading to lots of tannins (71 IPT) which although soft and integrated are at a higher level than 2015, while the 3.65pH remains the same. Late harvests encourage elongated tannins, and Thomas says he has never seen such sophistication in the construction of the wines here, so different from the 2015. As with Palmer, Alter Ego has a highly aromatic nose, majoring here on damson and blackberry. Tasted on an overcast Friday morning and yet it sings, with the most beautifully soft expression of black fruits. It's a different style to others, the 13% ABV being extremely low for this amount of Merlot. Beautiful.
Blended of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 12% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Alter Ego de Palmer opens with beautifully expressive notes of black cherries, fresh blackberries and redcurrants plus suggestions of menthol, dark chocolate, cloves and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied with a rich mid-palate and stacks of exuberant black and red fruits, it has a velvety texture and fantastically long finish.
Drinking Window: 2021 - 2040
Reviewer Name: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Review Date: 30th November 2018
- Details
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- Year 2016
- Colour Red
- Country France
- Region Bordeaux
- Sub Region Margaux
- Designation
- Classification
- Pack Size 6x75cl
- ABV 13.50°
- Drinking Window 2022 - 2040
- Drinking Recommendation Not Ready
- LWIN 100598920160600750
- Reviews (5)
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95-96 James Suckling
This is very concentrated yet soft and fresh in texture. Full-bodied and round and mouth-filling. So impressive how it fills your mouth yet remains fresh. It’s so framed.
94 Wine EnthusiastThis perfumed wine has a high percentage of ripe Petit Verdot that gives extra structure to the generous fruit core. The acidity is intense, complementing the delicious black-cherry fruitiness. It's an exuberant, but balanced, wine.
90-93 Antonio Galloni - VinousThe 2016 Alter Ego represents a fairly big departure is style from what has been the norm in recent vintages. Bright red stone fruit, tobacco, flowers and herbs. The combination of less Merlot and naturally lower alcohol are among the factors that have contributed to an especially silky, perfumed Alter Ego built on considerable finesse.
93 DecanterPalmer lost 20% of its crop in the spring, and the Merlot was affected more than the Cabernet so there is only around half as much Alter Ego as normal. The yield here is 29hl/ha, so a lot less than most of Margaux, mainly due to vineyard rebalancing after moving to biodynamics and the spring crop loss. The harvest start date of 3rd October was the latest on record, following on from a very long, slow ripening leading to lots of tannins (71 IPT) which although soft and integrated are at a higher level than 2015, while the 3.65pH remains the same. Late harvests encourage elongated tannins, and Thomas says he has never seen such sophistication in the construction of the wines here, so different from the 2015. As with Palmer, Alter Ego has a highly aromatic nose, majoring here on damson and blackberry. Tasted on an overcast Friday morning and yet it sings, with the most beautifully soft expression of black fruits. It's a different style to others, the 13% ABV being extremely low for this amount of Merlot. Beautiful.
93 Wine AdvocateBlended of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 12% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Alter Ego de Palmer opens with beautifully expressive notes of black cherries, fresh blackberries and redcurrants plus suggestions of menthol, dark chocolate, cloves and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied with a rich mid-palate and stacks of exuberant black and red fruits, it has a velvety texture and fantastically long finish.
Drinking Window: 2021 - 2040
Reviewer Name: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Review Date: 30th November 2018
- Producer
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Chateau Palmer is named after a British Major-General from the Napoleonic Wars. This Margaux tends to be high in Merlot, giving a ripe perfume and plum fruit flavours. Since the mid 1990s they have rediscovered their former class. The appointment of Thomas Duroux in 2004 has brought them into a new golden era.
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Alter Ego de Palmer
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