Château Palmer: Bordeaux Fundamentals
Bordeaux Index
14 October 2025
In a landscape where prestige often shouts, Château Palmer has always preferred to whisper. Its brilliance lies not in grandeur or scale, but in detail - in the quiet precision of its winemaking and the rare harmony it achieves between power and perfume.
Château Palmer has long been the most discrete of iconoclasts. With a precious terroir directly adjacent to Château Margaux, a unique cépage with a high percent of old vine merlot and the irresistible gold on black label, it is one of a tiny handful of left bank wines without any immediate parallel. Indeed it’s perhaps only Haut-Brion with which it vies for aromatics and sultry complexity.
While already responsible for some of the most spectacular wines of the last century, the qualitative evolution of the last two decades has been profound, even in the context of the general boom in standards in Bordeaux. The arrival of Thomas Duroux from Ornellaia in 2004 bought with it one of the most scientific studies of a vineyard ever undertaken. From thousands of soils samples, through to infra-red imaging of individual vines, he was able to remap according to vigour, water and nitrogen, vinifying individual lots separately according to their needs. Latterly, they have also moved to a full biodynamic approach, with 100% of the vineyard managed according to its principles post 2013.
All of this crystallised the other day, when we tasted the astonishing, 2015 ex-Château release. In short, it's a hedonistic masterpiece - the clarity of fragrance and silkiness that we used to associate with only the finest burgundy, married with the structure and fruit that can only be Bordeaux. It's already so absolutely dazzling to drink, it's hard to imagine how it gets better - yet it will. As an experience, red wine truly doesn't get better than this...for the ticket price, this is a ride worth taking!
2015 Château Palmer 3eme Cru Classe, Margaux
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97pts, Neal Martin - The 2015 Palmer is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot with around 14.1% alcohol, a little higher than usual. It is much more backward on the nose than the Alter Ego and demanded coaxing from the glass, eventually revealing scents of blackberry, cassis, boysenberry, crushed stone and a touch of vanilla pod, beautifully defined with a brooding sense of power. I suspect that this will be no shy and retiring violet when it reaches full maturity. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins that caress the mouth on the entry, and it is a voluminous Palmer, not heavy but multifaceted. Black fruits are laced with oyster shell, hints of allspice and crushed stone, delivering a crescendo toward an intense finish that this château has specialized in under winemaker Thomas Duroux. It will require at least a decade in bottle, but I probably agree with the estate that it will last many decades. Superb...but only for the patient. Anticipated maturity: 2025 - 2065.
98pts, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate - Bottled relatively late in mid-September 2017, the 2015 Palmer is a blend of 44% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon with a small portion of Petit Verdot. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it offers vibrant red currants, black cherries, wild blueberries, earth and mineral characteristics to begin, with slowly unfurling floral notes of violets and dried roses plus compelling baker’s chocolate and fragrant earth layers. Medium to full-bodied, generously fruited and possessing firm yet very, very fine-grained, mind-blowingly ripe tannins, the multifaceted palate features something of a skip in its step in terms of freshness, while it goes beguilingly earthy on the finish with some mineral hints. Very classy, elegant and sophisticated, this vintage is downright regal in its juxtaposition between poise and audaciousness. Think 2005 Palmer with a tick more fruit intensity, perfume and passion.
The 2015 has since become a reference point for the modern Palmer style - vivid, harmonious, and unhurried in its evolution. It stands as a reminder that true greatness in Bordeaux is measured not in short-term movements, but in the quiet consistency of craft and character over time.
For those who prize character over volume, Palmer continues to epitomise what makes Bordeaux truly great: a wine of intellect and pleasure in equal measure.
Even as the broader fine wine market has retreated from its 2022 peak, Palmer’s presence remains quietly assured, with attention concentrated on the benchmark vintages (2016 through 2018 and the timeless 2005), a reflection of collectors’ enduring focus on quality and provenance. Over five years, key vintages have shown modest yet consistent growth: 2005 up 9%, 2010 up 12%, and 2018 up 6%, faring notably better than many peers across the Left Bank. Sales of Palmer remain dominated by the UK and EU, where over 80% of total value finds its home — testament to the château’s deep, loyal following among Europe’s most seasoned collectors - Geraint Carter, Investment Team