Chateau Palmer

2009
Blend
41% Cabernet Sauvignon
52% Merlot
7% Petit Verdot
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Margaux
UPC
0 15643 25016 3
Red Wine
Verified Stock
1682-09
Product Ratings
Jeb Dunnuck 99pt

I've been lucky enough to have the 2009 Chateau Palmer numerous times over the past handful of years, and it continues to be a primordial yet heavenly wine every time, revealing a deep purple color as well as an incredibly powerful bouquet of blackcurrants, black cherry liqueur, smoked tobacco, graphite, crushed stone, and chocolate. Possessing full-bodied richness and a massive, dense, incredibly powerful style (not far off the 2018), it gains elegance and finesse with time in the glass, has ultra-fine tannins, and one hell of a finish.

by Jeb Dunnuck, 2020
James Suckling 98pt

This has such class and power. Aromas of blueberries and blackberries, with hints of violets. Full-bodied, with polished tannins and a juicy finish. Solid and extremely pretty. Fabulous finish.

by James Suckling, 2012
Wine Advocate 98pt

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Palmer delivers a beguiling array of black fruit—warm plums, cassis and black cherry compote—with kirsch and wild sage sparks plus profound suggestions of fragrant earth, black truffles, iron ore and liquid licorice. Full-bodied, rich and decadently seductive in the mouth, the generous fruit is superbly framed with plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral laced.

by Wine Advocate, 2019
Wine Enthusiast 98pt

A beautiful wine, with the firmest tannins surrounded by perfumed fruit. It is dense, of course, but this density is balanced with great elegance, blackberry fruits, sweetness and final juicy acidity. The wine is structured, a powerhouse of concentration while preserving this complete style.

by Wine Enthusiast, 2012
Wine Spectator 95pt

This is on another level from most in the appellation, with gorgeous layers of warm currant confiture, smoldering tobacco, licorice snap, warm paving stone and anise all framed by tarry but integrated grip. Stays sleek and well-defined through the finish. Should age beautifully. Best from 2015 through 2030. Tasted twice, with consistent notes

by Wine Spectator, 2012

Vintage

The cool, humid weather in early spring brought a rather late budburst and fairly slow vine growth. A hailstorm on 11 May hit the Palmer vineyard without affecting the harvest's qualitative potential. With extremely mild, dry and sunny weather in June, flowering took place quickly and spread evenly. The bright, sunny summer that followed enhanced the qualitative potential. It was a summer of no extremes: no destructive storms and no heat waves, just some moderate, sporadic rainfall. Under such favorable conditions, plant growth rapidly stopped and the véraison spread swiftly and well, like the flowering! Depending on the plots, the water supply became more and more limited. This made the vines suffer, developed berry concentration and made the potential quality of the fruit looks more and more promising. September and October did nothing to dampen our hopes since the weather condition were ideal for the ripening of the grapes and the harvest! By early September, the technical maturity had been reached (potential degree in alcohol of 13.5° to 14°), but the skins were still thick and the tannins needed time to soften. A long spell of fine weather gave us the time to taste the grapes every day and patiently monitor their development until they had the right velvety, silky texture.

Harvest

Harvesting began 23 September for the earliest ripening Merlots. The grapes arriving in the vat room were magnificent: perfectly ripe, healthy, juicy and concentrated. Merlot harvesting continued without haste until 4 October. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were harvested between 2 and 14 October, and our Petit Verdots on 8 and 9 October. The yield, at 34 hL/ha, was very close to that of the 2005 vintage. Although this very fine vintage gave us the leisure to harvest calmly, it caused our oenologists some anxiety! The grapes arrived in the winery at slightly higher temperatures than usual. The crops had to be cooled to make sure that the fermentation temperatures were well controlled. The extraordinary richness of the musts demanded constant monitoring by batch in order to precision-manage the extractions. These efforts were both encouraged and rewarded by the very high quality of the daily tastings: we were stunned by the freshness, density and finesse of the batches. This is a terroir vintage, in which each plot fully expresses its singularity and contributes thereby to blendings of very great complexity