Wine Advisor
Palmer, Alter Ego de Palmer 2020
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Gorgeous perfumes of plums, berries, light chocolate and walnut follow through to a medium body, fine tannins and crunchy finish. Bright and fresh. Precise tannins. Drinkable but better after 2027.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2020 Alter Ego de Palmer has turned out beautifully, bursting with aromas of violets and rose petals mingled with notions of sweet dark berries and baking chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, it's vibrant and perfumed, with a bright core of fruit, powdery tannins and a long, expansive finish. It's a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 Alter Ego is phenomenal. Bright acids and lifted floral top notes give the Alter Ego terrific brilliance. The combination of the growing season and a move towards foudres for the second year of élevage yields an Alter Ego that is decidedly linear in construction. The 2020 is going to need a number of years to come around. It's a gorgeous wine, but readers will have to get used to a style that is quite different from the more exuberant wines of the past. It's a very classic Alter Ego and very classic Margaux.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Alter Ego de Palmer has a tightly-wound bouquet that demands a little more coaxing than other Margaux's that I tasted. Quite refined with black cherries, blackcurrant, iris flower and light iodine scents. Lovely definition. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fresh on the entry and quite saline, not as flamboyant as you might expect with a pleasant strictness towards the tannic finish (this is the most tannic Alter Ego ever produced.) Very fine, but serious.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2020 Alter Ego is very pure on the nose, almost Burgundian in style with lush blueberry, boysenberry, crushed violets and a touch of vanilla. It is not a powerful bouquet but it seems to gain momentum with aeration, finding its own voice with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with quite grippy tannins for Alter Ego, possibly because of tasting slightly later (Thomas Duroux commented it is the most tannic that he has produced.) Crustacea-tinged black fruit lacquer the mouth, fresh and very delineated on the finish. Maybe it needs a little more sustain on the aftertaste, though that may evolve throughout its élevage.
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.
2000(1)2008(1)2009(1)2010(1)2011(1)2012(2)2013(1)2014(6)2015(1)2016(5)2017(4)2019(8)
Package Size
