Alter Ego de Château Palmer, Margaux, 2022
Made from a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot from the lighter gravel and sandy soils at Palmer. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the team here decided not to do soft extractions. They wanted to build a backbone so elected to go deep with their macerations. The result is dark and sultry Alter Ego with notes of liqueur fruits, brioche, graphite, bramble and plums. There's a lot of attack and some good definition, but it perhaps lacks the spark and energy of the vintage's most successful wines.
critic reviews
Alter Ego is 51% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, almost a mirror image of the grand vin, the blend as always determined by soil more than selection. This takes a little less than 30% of the crop. The élevage for the second wine is around 30% new oak, passing the first year in barrel, the second year in foudre. A beautiful concentration on the nose here, introducing some dried-fruit elements to the mix, with elements of confit cherry and raspberry, currant too, with a rose petal note, very Margaux in style, but with Palmer intensity amplified by the dry concentrating effect of the vintage. A very solid, composed, polished style on the palate, relaxing just a touch in the middle to reveal layers of dried summer berries and dark chocolate, with firm, dusty, powdery tannins intertwined, leaving the finish coated in fine but dry tannins. I can see this evolving in a very confident fashion, although I would have liked a little more freshness in the fruit profile. The alcohol on the label is 14%.
Damson plum colour, intense, concentrated and spicy, with the lightness of touch coming in through the floral aromatics, and a lift of white pepper and sage spices. Big punch of fig and blackberry fruit, and a tight umi plum edge that provides contrast. Deft and skilful, great quality. Harvest September 7 to October 5, yield 23hl/h. Thomas Duroux director. First year in barrels and then into larger oak casks for the rest of ageing.
The 2022 Alter Ego, bottled in late July, has a clean and precise bouquet, with touches of violet infusing the black fruit and a nose that you could describe as "cool, calm and collected." The palate is medium-bodied, stricter and more linear than expected, partly due to recent bottling. There is intensity here, a crisp texture and a very graphite-driven finish that lends it a Pauillac-like personality.
A blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2022 Alter Ego de Palmer offers up aromas of cherries, wild berries and plums mingled with vine smoke and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, deep and brooding, with a layered core of fruit, lively acids and rich, powdery tannins, it's a gourmand, voluptuous wine that will offer a broad drinking window.