So much sweet tobacco, stone, brambleberry and currant on the nose. The palate is full and compact with very polished tannins, yet they are solid and sturdy and run the length and width of the wine. Energetic acidity. Very structured and powerful, yet agile and impressive. Historic feel. From biodynamically grown grapes. This needs at least six years of bottle age to soften. Try after 2027.

The 2019 Palmer is a truly special wine, but it is also going to need a number of years to be at its finest. Dense and plush, with explosive energy, the 2019 possesses tremendous richness in its dark fruit. As always, the blend features a high percentage of Merlot (43%) which works so well in complementing the savoriness of the Cabernet. Thomas Duroux and his team fashioned another absolutely compelling Palmer in 2019.

The first thing you notice is the showy display of lilacs and roses before moving on to the currants, plums, cigar wrapper, black cherries and earthy nuances. As captivating as the perfume is, it is the sensuous, rich, silky, elegant, fresh, vibrant palate presence with its layers of perfectly ripe, black and red fruits. There is length, lift and longevity here with a vibrancy that resonates. The finish builds and expands as the fruits linger. Like all great vintages of Palmer, give this time to develop allowing the wine to gain complexity and additional nuances. This should age effortlessly for decades. Drink from 2032-2060. March 2022

The 2019 Château Palmer is even richer, with a stacked, full-bodied, concentrated profile as well as beautiful notes of ripe black cherries, blackcurrants, lead pencil, tobacco leaf, and chocolate. I love its mid-palate, it has building, ripe, yet substantial tannins, tons of fat and glycerin, and a gorgeous finish. I don't think it will ultimately match the 2009, 2016, or 2018, but it's nevertheless a brilliant wine as well as one of the stars of the show from Margaux. It will benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age (it already offers pleasure) and have 30-40 years of overall longevity.

A serious and darkly fruited wine with notes of milk chocolate, violets and black cherries supported by fine-grained and velvety tannins that really coat the mouth, carefully constructed with acidity underneath that gives brightness and lift. The emphasis here is really the concentration and density of flavours with layers of black chocolate, black cherries, cocoa powder and cooling minerality but each with purity and definition. Excellently framed and well packaged with energy and verve. So many elements going on: a great Palmer. Drinking Window: 2029 - 2050
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 05 Jan 2022)
Part of Bordeaux 2019 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

The 2019 Palmer was always going to be stylistically a completely different kettle of fish than the preceding vintage. It was bottled in early August 2021. As winemaker Thomas Duroux foretold, it’s a much more classically styled Palmer, offering blackberry, briary and pressed iris petals scents rather than violet, along with a distinct marine influence; a touch of sea spray comes through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, tightly knit on the entry, and very fresh and saline, with just a very slight bitter edginess toward the almost Côte de Nuits–like finish (especially returning to my glass after 20 minutes). Quintessential Palmer, this will require 4–6 years in bottle.

The 2019 Palmer is a rich, dramatic wine that soars from the glass with aromas of cherries, blackberries and berry fruit liqueur mingled with notions of violets, rose petals and sweet spices. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, it's powerful and immensely concentrated, with an enveloping core of lively fruit that largely conceals the wine's ripe, powdery structuring tannins. Concluding with a long, penetrating finish, it's a brilliant rendition of the contemporary Palmer style from Thomas Duroux and his team. WK