1961 | Chateau Palmer | Margaux

The 1961 château-bottling of Palmer remains the greatest vintage of Palmer that I have ever had the great good fortune to taste, and the bottle we had at our October vertical was as profoundly magical as this wine can be when in perfect condition. The haunting bouquet soars from the glass in an utterly profound and surreal mélange of red cherries, mulberries, blood orange, black truffles, violets and roses, tobacco leaf, summer truffles, a touch of nutskin and a profound base of complex soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, pure, fullish and yet very light on its feet, with flawless focus and equilibrium, bright acids, melted tannins and an endless, long and profoundly complex finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Tasted at the Château Palmer vertical in London, two bottles of 1961 Château Palmer were opened and compared. The first was a great bottle of wine, beautifully balanced and complex, and yet not quite living up to its status as one of the legendary bottles of the 20th century. That said, I still scored it around the 96 or 97 point mark. The second lived up to the billing. Coming from the late great John Avery's cellar, that is to say, purchased on release and never moved, the first difference is the slightly deeper color compared to the first bottle. The bouquet is difficult to capture in words. Heavenly, ethereal, moving and profound - they are all applicable here. It is still a wine in its prime, with dark berry fruit, hints of graphite and mineral, a touch of wilted violet petals. Its ineffable purity knocks you sideways. The palate is defined by its filigree framework of tannin - precise and lace-like, lending it the texture of a mature Richebourg. Yet it is unmistakably Margaux because there is stunning structure on the finish, astounding precision and a never-ending aftertaste that is borderline supernatural. This bottle reminds me of the first time I tasted the 1961 Palmer several years ago when I gave a perfect score without hesitation. This is exactly the same: a perfect wine and a bona fide legend.

• Vinous: The 1961 Palmer is a wine that tends to deliver upon its gargantuan reputation and we were rewarded with an exemplary bottle here. It has a clear colour with modest bricking on the rim. The bouquet is difficult to encapsulate into words – utterly ethereal. Heavenly definition, almost Burgundy-like in purity with traces of pencil box and pressed violets. It grows in stature with each swirl of the glass and leaves you transfixed. The palate is bestowed beguiling balanced, almost symmetrical, framed by filigree tannin and pitch perfect acidity. Like the aromatics it coheres with aeration, the fruit undiminished by time even if it is no blockbuster. Quite the opposite – this 1961 Palmer is the apotheosis of finesse with just a hint of balsamic on the aftertaste. This Margaux can bring you to tears of joy. Tasted at the 1961 dinner Chairman Miaow’s in Hong Kong

Producer Information

Château Palmer is a wine estate located in the Margaux appellation of the Médoc. It was ranked as a third growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, although for many decades it has been consistently rated as one of the best wines in the region. Unusually for the Médoc, Château Palmer usually has as much Merlot as Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend (along with a small amount of Petit Verdot), which helps give the wine a fleshy and generous structure. It can be drunk young, but will also reward long cellaring.The Palmer vineyards cover 55 hectares (136 acres) in the former Cantenac commune (now part of Margaux-Cantenac), mostly on a plateau of thin gravel on the edge of the estuary. Vines are densely planted, as is the habit in this region, to ensure competition between vines, reduce vigor and promote deeper root systems.

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