Wine Advisor
Palmer, Alter Ego de Palmer 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is very concentrated yet soft and fresh in texture. Full-bodied and round and mouth-filling. So impressive how it fills your mouth yet remains fresh. It’s so framed.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A super fresh and expressive nose with a wealth of ripe red and dark plums, as well as blackberries and cassis, with subtle cedar and bracken complexity. The palate has a deeply rich, long and assertive style with a deep-set, flavorful and structured finish. Classically styled with great depth. Second wine of Château Palmer. Try from 2023.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Alter Ego de Palmer is a blend of 40% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Petit Verdot this year (a little less Merlot than usual). That exuberant Merlot drives the aromatics along, almost citrus-like with scents of blood orange and blueberries soaring from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin on the entry, quite sharp acidity at first, quite structured for an Alter Ego with a grippy finish. I think the new oak will bind this together, this sample coming from a used barrel.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Blended of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 12% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Alter Ego de Palmer opens with beautifully expressive notes of black cherries, fresh blackberries and redcurrants plus suggestions of menthol, dark chocolate, cloves and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied with a rich mid-palate and stacks of exuberant black and red fruits, it has a velvety texture and fantastically long finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Alter Ego is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Fresh, vibrant and pulsing with energy, the 2016 is utterly captivating from the very first taste. There is a purity to the 2016 that is simply remarkable. Floral overtones add lift to this super-expressive, sensual Margaux. Alter Ego is made from a selection of parcels that are picked earlier than those used for the Grand Vin. Lower temperatures in fermentation and gentle vinifications yield a wine that emphasizes freshness and energy. In that sense, Alter Ego is not really a second wine of the Grand Vin, but rather is more accurately described as a second, and independent, wine off the property.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Alter Ego represents a fairly big departure is style from what has been the norm in recent vintages. Bright red stone fruit, tobacco, flowers and herbs. The combination of less Merlot and naturally lower alcohol are among the factors that have contributed to an especially silky, perfumed Alter Ego built on considerable finesse.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Alter Ego de Palmer has a perfumed bouquet of juicy black fruit, boysenberry jam and light violet aromas. The palate is sweet and chewy on the entry, and quite compact, with firm tannins, leading to a lightly spiced finish. It just misses some excitement and pizzazz compared to its peers. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Alter Ego, matured in around 35-40% new oak, has a forward, quite voluptuous bouquet of macerated red cherries, kirsch and hints of cassis, underneath which lies a fine graphite thread. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chewy tannin on the entry. This feels quite tarry at the moment, and dense but tightly coiled toward the grippy finish. I would have liked a little more flesh to come through. Not bad, but this year I find the Palmer to be streets ahead. 13.5% alcohol.
About the Producer
The fine seaside climate and soils of Long Island’s North Fork provide exceptional conditions for the making of world-class varietal wines. With 110 acres planted with Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc to supply the winery’s 20,000 annual case production, Palmer strives to preserve and enhance the purity of flavor and distinctive, fresh character which makes this region’s wines so unique. The state- of-the art winery contains the most modern winemaking equipment available today, and also includes substantial new French oak cooperage, purchased each year, for both barrel fermentation of our Chardonnay and the aging of our premium red varietals.
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