Château Palmer, 2016
Château Palmer, 2016
- 75cl
- 14%
- Red Still
- Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot
- Organic
- Biodynamic
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Drinking window: 2026 - 2066
Est. delivery in 2027
Château Palmer is technically a Third Growth, but in practice it’s one of the most revered names in Margaux.
The vintage gave Bordeaux a near-perfect run of conditions, with a warm, dry summer balanced by enough freshness to keep the wines lively. Palmer’s unusually high proportion of Merlot, around 47% in the 2016 blend, adds plenty of richness and aromatic lift, giving the wine a more generous, voluptuous feel than some of the more Cabernet-heavy wines of the appellation.
What the critics say:
"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 of 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 build into a deep, substantial finish that is truly unforgettable. In a word: magnificent!"
"Just hover your nose over the glass to get excited about this wine. Inky purple in colour, cigar box, tobacco bud, pencil lead, tight cassis and bilberry fruit. Where the 2015 is generous, the 2016 is tighter, less expressive at the five year mark, but with layers and potential to fire up an entire room. Has the structure and the chiselled fruit that signposts great Bordeaux in an exceptional vintage, with the nuanced whisper of violet and peony that takes you to the Margaux appellation. Powerful and muscular, still austere but the morieish juice on the finish tells you how much this has to give over the next few decades. Harvest October 3 to 18. Gets better every time you go back to it. 60% new oak."
"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."
"Still showing the color of a barrel sample, the wine is full bodied, silky, polished, fresh, vibrant and pure. The wine tastes as if you ran into the vineyard and grabbed a handful of grapes off the vine, and you ate them just moments before they were crushed. The fruit has so much purity, energy and sensuality, it is impossible not to go back to the glass for another sniff, swirl and sip. Another interesting point is the addition of a gentle chalky minerality in the finish, adding a beautiful layer to the complexity. This is easily one of the great vintages of Chateau Palmer and will age for decades with no effort."
Palmer's vineyards sit on a deep band of Günzian gravel — particularly well-drained and heat-retentive — spread across the plateau of Margaux directly adjacent to Château Margaux itself. This gravel over clay subsoil gives the wines their characteristic combination of Margaux's floral delicacy and a structured, grippy backbone that ages magnificently. The relatively high proportion of Merlot planted on the estate's clay-richer parcels adds flesh and generosity to what would otherwise be a more austerely Cabernet-driven profile.
Margaux is the southernmost of the Médoc's great communal appellations, and the one most associated with perfume, elegance, and finesse over sheer power. The soils are the thinnest and most gravelly of the Haut-Médoc communes, which forces vines to dig deep and yields low-weight berries with concentrated flavour. It sits alongside Cantenac, Soussans, Labarde, and Arsac, all of which may label their wines as Margaux AOC. While Pauillac and Saint-Julien are often cited for structure and consistency, Margaux at its best has an ethereal quality that neither can quite replicate.
The 2016 growing season in Bordeaux handed growers a masterclass in patience and precision. A sodden spring delayed flowering, then summer heat arrived just when the vines needed it most, followed by crucial September sunshine that allowed unhurried ripening. The Merlot on the Right Bank reached beautiful concentration, while the Cabernet Sauvignon across the Gironde had time to develop the structure that makes this vintage so compelling.
What emerged was a vintage of remarkable poise—wines with serious backbone but without the austerity that can make young Bordeaux forbidding. The tannins have grip without being harsh, the fruit has depth without being jammy, and there's an energy running through these wines that keeps them lively rather than ponderous. Most 2016s are drinking superbly now, showing their character whilst retaining plenty in reserve, and the better examples will reward cellaring until 2035 or beyond.
