This marvellous property is often thought of as a Second Growth and for a period before the Mentzelopoulos years at Château MARGAUX it was also the benchmark for the AC. At its best the wine displays not only the perfume of the appellation but ripe, powerful, almost sumptuous dark fruit. In part this must be down to the very high proportion of Merlot planted, at 47% the same as Cabernet Sauvignon. The second wine, Alter Ego de Palmer, tends to have an even higher proportion of Merlot in the final blend and less new oak whilst ageing. 2010, 09, 06, 04, 03, 01, 00, 99, 98, 96 and 95 Palmer were of a very high standard and the most recent vintages have similar promise. 2005 looks likely to set new standards for the property. Of the great years here, 89 and 83 also stand out as do the earlier years of 70, 66 and 61. Since 2014, the vines are being farmed biodynamically with a view to receiving organic certification by 2017.
