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93
Critic reviews

2021 Château Palmer Alter Ego

Sale price$100.00 | In Stock Ships from our French cellar (Delivery in 4-10 days) | Lay Down

The 2021 vintage in Bordeaux was challenging, marked by frost and a cool, wet growing season. This Alter Ego, Palmer's second wine, showcases the estate's skill in difficult conditions. It offers refined aromas of red berries, violets, and subtle spice, with hints of fresh herbs and earth. On the palate, it displays admirable balance and freshness, with silky tannins and a harmonious structure, promising 10-15 years of graceful evolution.


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Cellared at 55°F & 70% Humidity

Critic Reviews
95

Lush berry aromas and layers of wood give this second-label wine its rich character. It has black-pepper spice and solid tannins along with structured, opulent black fruits. Drink from 2027.

Wine Enthusiast
94

Quite a rich, dark heady nose, full of blackcurrants, bramble leaf, raspberry and some dried herbs with floral touches too. Smooth and supple, you can feel the concentration in the mouth but the texture is so silky and fresh too. Bursting with energy and brightness - the fruit has a ripe touch to it - plummy and blackcurrant but the acidity is great giving a real lean and direct frame to the wine and driving it from start to finish. Polished and very enjoyable still with lots of flavour. A real cool element to the dark fruit - it’s not rich and chewy and exuberant and plush, it’s streamlined but full of juicy brightness and then a slick wet slate touch to the finish. Perfumed all the way through with cola, blueberry and liquorice touches as well. Serious and layered. A successful second wine to match the gorgeous grand vin.

Decanter
93

This bright wine has very pretty fruit, with al dente blackcurrants as well as minerals and clove-like spices. Medium body, crunchy and minerally. Vivid with some iodine too. Drinkable already but better in a couple of years.

James Suckling
Château Palmer Alter Ego Packshot on Heritage Cellar
2021 Château Palmer Alter Ego Sale price$100.00 | In Stock Ships from our French cellar (Delivery in 4-10 days) | Lay Down

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The Estate

Château Palmer is a renowned Third Growth estate in Margaux, Bordeaux, known for wines that often outperform its classification. Its distinctive style comes from a roughly equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with some Petit Verdot. The estate produces two wines: Château Palmer and Alter Ego, introduced in 1998. Alter Ego is considered a separate wine, not a second label, with its own dedicated vineyards and blend. Both wines are prized for their complexity, aromatic richness, and aging potential. Owned by the Mähler-Besse and Sichel families since 1938, Palmer has a history dating to the early 19th century.

Château Palmer Alter Ego Packshot on Heritage Cellar 2019
2019
2019

The warm vintage allowed Palmer's second wine to benefit from the same precise viticulture and early picking decisions as the grand vin. Their gravel-rich soils provided ideal drainage while maintaining crucial water reserves through summer heat. Dark fruits and violets define this wine, showing both the vintage's ripeness and Palmer's signature elegance at the second wine level.

Château Palmer Alter Ego Packshot on Heritage Cellar 2020
2020
2020

Second Wine Shows Drive

Early summer warmth in Margaux drove swift ripening across Palmer's biodynamic vineyard sites. The second wine benefited from precise picking decisions and the estate's complex gravel-clay soils during intense heat. The wine captures the vintage's solar profile while maintaining the violet-tinged aromatics distinctive to Palmer's terroir.

Château Palmer Alter Ego Packshot on Heritage Cellar 2021
2021
2021

Palmer's Precision in a Cool, Challenging Year

The 2021 growing season at Château Palmer was marked by spring frosts, a cool and wet summer, and a late harvest. These conditions led to lower yields and required meticulous vineyard management and careful grape selection. The resulting Alter Ego 2021 reflects the vintage's freshness and the estate's commitment to quality, producing a wine of elegance and precision rather than power. Photo Credit: Olivier Metzger for Château Palmer

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