Chateau Palmer 1960s-80s Vertical Tasting

Chateau Palmer 1966

Perfectly mature with great elegance, the Palmer 1966 shows seductive dark chocolate, violets, and pencil shaving aromas. The soft silky tannins on the palate give way to a beautiful bouquet of rose petals, cedar, leather and cigar box. A very harmounious wine that has aged very gracefully, showing great freshness and nuance of dried fruits. Very precise acidity gives the wine a great lift, finishing with perfect balance. This is a brilliant, classic and seamless Claret drinking at its peak. -G+C 95

Chateau Palmer 1970

A hot and dry vintage which has led to a richer and riper style of Palmer. Pronounced slightly jammy aromas on the nose, with all the classic notes of leather, spice, pencil shavings and cigar box on the nose, with an additional touch of meaty bacon characters. Full-bodied and quite powerful on the palate, there is notable warmth from the alcohol, and a slight sweetness of fruit intensity. Good acidity, with slightly grippy tannins. -G+C 91 

Chateau Palmer 1975

Pale garnet in color, showing a lot more development than the 1966 or 1970. Smoky cigar box aromas along with notes of bacon and smoked meats, the palate shows some greenness and tannins that are a little coarse and rubbery. There's decent concentration showing ripe fig and sweet fruits, though the finish is slightly short. Drink soon. -G+C 88 

Chateau Palmer 1976

Some good concentration on both the nose and palate, with pronounced cigar box, mushroom and forest floor aromas. Slightly dilute on the palate, perhaps due to the strong rain in September which flooded the vineyards. Tannins are slightly green, but the ripeness of the fruit and acidity balance the wine quite well, and overall shows better than the 1975. -G+C 91

Chateau Palmer 1978

Ripe and concentrated fruit, with the fresh and primary fruit characters really spicing up the wine, a significant change from the 1976 which is just two years apart. The classic cassis and blackberry notes are very dominant and apparent now, with the backbone of cedarwood, pencil shavings and cigarbox layering the wine well. Firm and definitely showing some good grip, there is powerful concentration and elegant acidity. A great vintage that is only beginning to offer us a glimpse of its great potential. Definitely great to drink now, but will also reward further cellaring perhaps for another 5-6 years. -G+C 94

Chateau Palmer 1979

"Rollercoaster weather" was a term used by Palmer to describe this vintage. Surprisingly more rustic than the 1978, but shows good ripeness and maturity nevertheless. The obvious characters of cigarbox and pencil shavings are very dominant here, showing some youthful characters. Supple sweet tannins and crisp acidity gives the wine a very nice balance, and overall it's a very nice bottle of Palmer that is ready to drink now. -G+C 92

Chateau Palmer 1980

A very tough year everywhere, with a late start to the vintage coupled with damp and cold conditions which left vignerons with very little they could do to "fix" this vintage. Some initial rustic aromas fill the nose, though it is lacking some strength compared to the other vintages tasted so far. The palate feels slightly thin, but there is still good amount of fruit extraction, with notes of cassis, black pepper and a hint of coffee. Still, the body and fruit feels somewhat dilute, and the finish is a little on the short side as expected, but considering how long the maturity of the wine and that despite its age its still showing some decent fruit aromas, it's managed to hang on very well, and the effort in producing a reasonably good wine in such a tough vintage must be praised. -G+C 85

Chateau Palmer 1981
Powerful, good concentration, showng notes of freshly ground coffee and cedar aromas. Dry, floral notes show on the palate, with restrained cassis and berry characters. Elegant acidity and very refined ripe tannins on the finish. A little closed, and perhaps still a bit young - this could merit a few more years in bottle. -G+C 89

Chateau Palmer 1982

An exceptional vintage all around Bordeaux, and certainly a very renowned one. Pronounced youthful berry and bramble aromas all around, with spicy oak still lingering. Firm and ripe, showing no indication on the palate that this is a 37 year old bottle of wine. Powerfully, ripe, concentrated, with intense black cherries, hawthorns, cassis and forest floor is balanced with lush ripe tannins and an equally powerful finish. This still has a long way to go, and will give you at least another two decades of drinking pleasure. -G+C 94

Chateau Palmer 1986

Another top notch vintage across the whole of Bordeaux, and one of the wines of the night. What great concentration, and exceptionally youthful notes. This feels at least ten years younger than what it should be, but that is the beauty of a great classed growth chateau like Palmer. Sweet spices, cassis and blackberries dominate, with lighter aromas of cedarwood and pencil shavings adding a layer of refined complexity. Silky tannins, though still a touch on the firm side, but will no doubt soften up with a little more time, and very refined acidity. Drink over the next two decades at least! -G+C 96