At dinner this evening with hanger steak and fries. No notes taken, but a few brief impressions, for what its worth. Lovely nose of red jammy fruits, leather and a bit of funk but seriously tight on the palate - a three or four hour decant would help this, but even at the end of the night there are some hard-core drying tannins still in place. It needs a good 3-5 years before it begins to show something other than primary characteristics. But its got a lot up its sleeve and boy is it going to be good when it unfurls.
John, not sure I was throwing it out there that much! Do I think it has the potential to be a great wine? Yes. Does it currently show better than other left bank wines from 99? Probably not. I bought a case of 99 Pontet Canet a couple of years ago for the sinfully cheap price of $27 per and those were fantastic, certainly much better for immediate drinking than the Palmer. So much so that I’ve none left.
If you’re asking me have I tasted broadly amongst 1999 left bankers, the answer’s no. But the place I had the Palmer also has 1999 Lynch Bages, Ducru and Pontet Canet on the list and I intend to get through those within the next few months.
I’ve had the '99 Palmer twice so far, and I agree that it is still very primary and will improve. It’s a bit too fruit-forward for my personal tastes (both times anyway), but it’s a good wine. I’ve had a lot of '99s from both the right and left banks with many “repeat performances” and, so far, I still like the '99 Margaux the most.
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