Château Palmer

Alter Ego de Château Palmer, Margaux, 2021

Name: Alter Ego de Château Palmer, Margaux
Brand: Château Palmer
Price: 416.74 GBP

93/100

Inside Bordeaux

88/100

The Wine Independent

92/100

Vinous

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2021
6x75cl
DP
£416.74
Last Few
2021
6x75cl
DP
£416.74

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

We don't always love Alter Ego, but credit where it's due, their 2021s is absolutely outstanding. Alas, they lost 9 hectares (of mainly Merlot) to frost, but learnings from recent vintages meant they lost little to mildew and maintained their biodynamic status. Made from an unusually high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) with the balance 32% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot; this is clearly a very successful and attractive Alter Ego. There's a nice definition to the nose. Indications of dark, ripe fruits and mineral elements. One gets the sensation of opaque, yet bright and crisp Merlot fruit wrapped in serious Cabernet tannins. More black fruited than anything else in the Margaux appellation, with red fruit and raspberry highlights. Lots of tension and definition here, vivid and lively, with an alluring sapidity. Very handsome and complete.

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GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of upmost importance. A wine’s history – where it’s sourced from and how it’s been stored – can have an enormous influence on the eventual enjoyment it provides. At Justerini & Brooks, we can trace nearly every case back to the domaine, estate or Château it originally came from; we ship from over 200 wine producers throughout the world.

Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.

We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.

We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.

The Journey

Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.

This information is sent from our systems to the warehouse every day to ensure the trail of ownership is verified and upheld.

While customer reserves are stored in Corsham, our physical stocks are kept in Hoddesdon, further providing a geographical separation between customers’ wines with Cellarers and Justerinis’ own stock.

Further Reassurance

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.

Critic Reviews

88/100

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

The Wine Independent

The 2021 Alter Ego has a deep purple-black color. It springs from the glass with zippy scents of Bing cherries, juicy raspberries, and redcurrants, leading to wafts of lavender and bay leaves. The light to medium-bodied palate is elegant and refreshing, with crunchy red fruit, finishing with a skip in its step.

drinking window 2026 - 2036

date of review 04/2024

93/100

Jane Anson,

Inside Bordeaux

This has a juicy delicate structure, leaning in to the Margaux character, floral and fragrant, with intensity and balanced minerality. Savoury and sappy, blueberries, mirabelle plum and grilled cassis, and waves of gunsmoke. Higher Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than usual, giving it more of a classical, less exuberant character than in many vintages. 25% new oak.

drinking window 2025 - 2040

date of review 04/2024

92/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2021 Alter Ego, which contains slightly more Cabernet than usual and was bottled in late July, has manifested a little more composure on the nose since tasting it from barrel: black fruit, touches of melted tar and that background scent of shucked oyster shell. The palate is medium-bodied with a juicy opening, yet there is backbone and a mineral-driven finish behind this Alter Ego. Impressive in terms of persistence, don't be afraid to tuck this away in your cellar for three or four years.

drinking window 2027 - 2050

date of review 02/2024

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abv:

14%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.