Château Palmer is one of the most beloved and consistently excellent Troisième Cru classé estates in the Médoc, regularly producing wines of second-growth and occasionally first-growth quality from its 55 hectares of Merlot-dominant vineyards on the deep gravel-over-clay soils of the Margaux appellation. The estate’s unusual Merlot-dominant blend—in most years approximately 47% Merlot with 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot—produces wines of a distinctive style that combines the aromatic generosity and silky texture of the finest Pomerol Merlot with the mineral structure, fine tannin and aromatic precision of the Margaux appellation’s classic Cabernet Sauvignon character. The 2005 Bordeaux vintage is one of the greatest in the modern era, and Palmer, whose combination of gravelly well-drained soils and Merlot-dominant blend benefits particularly from the warmth and balance of outstanding Margaux vintages, produced in 2005 what is widely considered one of the finest Palmer vintages in the past thirty years.

The 2005 Bordeaux vintage produced wines of extraordinary concentration, aromatic complexity and structural depth across all the major appellations, and in Margaux specifically, where the combination of warm growing conditions and the appellation’s fine gravelly soils produced Cabernet Sauvignon of outstanding aromatic precision and deep tannic structure, the vintage created a generation of wines that have proved among the most reliably excellent of the modern era. At twenty years from harvest, the 2005 Palmer is entering a particularly rewarding phase of its development: the primary fruit has given way to complex secondary and tertiary aromas, the tannins have integrated beautifully with the Merlot’s naturally silky character, and the wine’s fundamental structure remains fully intact for a further decade of pleasurable drinking.

Palmer 2005 is widely documented as one of the outstanding expressions of this legendary Margaux estate in the modern era, and twenty years of bottle development have brought the wine to the beginning of what most experienced tasters describe as its most interesting and rewarding phase. For collectors who seek mature first-rate Margaux at a Troisième Cru price, and for those who know the estate and vintage well, this is a wine that delivers an experience of the very highest order.

Deep garnet with a mature and complex nose of ripe plum, black cherry, cedar, tobacco, dried violet, leather, dried herbs, iron mineral and the distinctive silky-textured quality that Merlot-dominant Margaux achieves at full development. Full-bodied with beautifully integrated, silky tannins, excellent residual acidity and a very long, mineral, complex finish. Drinking beautifully now; best through 2035. 

Dark in color, with intense aromas of crushed berry, toasty oak and hints of raisin, turning to fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with a big, juicy, velvety texture and a long aftertaste of coffee, coconut and berry. This is powerful and muscular for Palmer. - Wine Spectator