2009 Palmer (Ex Chateau 2016 release)

Reticent nose, then plentiful black cherry and bright acid. Soft tannins, enjoyably bright, although it perhaps isn't as showy and powerful as you expect for 2009. Maybe a good reflection of Margaux's more elegant style? Certainly ready to drink. (RH)

Soy, liqourice, tar, white pepper and baked earth, this remains young and taut, with a punch of cassis, bilberry and fleshy black damson fruits. You reach out and touch the tannins, they are so velvety and rippled. Not as effortlessly balanced as the 2005, this has more of an exuberant character, with chocolate and turmeric spice rippling through the fruits, and a mouthwatering crushed mint leaf finish. You can approach this now with a good few hours in a carafe, but it will improve further with another few years in bottle. Harvest September 23 to October 14, 60% new oak. One hectare of the vineyard was tested in biodynamic farming in this vintage.

I've been lucky enough to have the 2009 Château 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. This magical Palmer needs another decade to hit maturity and will evolve for 50+ years or more.