Pre-Arrivals

100 Points | Wine Advocate

Lisa Perrotti-Brown found an extraordinary combination of floral, mineral and cassis character, framed by exceptionally fine tannins and seamless freshness. Her review emphasized the wine's profound aromatics, elegance and remarkably long finish.

100 Points

100 Points | Vinous

Antonio Galloni found the 2016 even more impressive from bottle than it had been from barrel. He praised the wine's combination of tremendous power and richness without heaviness, along with the classic gravel, tobacco and cedar character that makes Haut-Brion so distinctive.

100 Points

100 Points | James Suckling

Suckling found tremendous black fruit and forest berry character wrapped around an intensely structured palate. He praised the extremely fine-grained tannins, vibrant acidity and seemingly endless finish, highlighting its very long aging potential.

100 Points

100 Points | Decanter

Jane Anson found a wine of hidden power, with charcoal, tobacco, dark plum and damson fruit emerging as it opened. She praised its layered tannins and understated authority, concluding:

“A great wine En primeur that has settled into greatness.”

100 Points

100 Points | Wine Enthusiast

Roger Voss described the 2016 as one of the finest Haut-Brions in many years, emphasizing its immense tannic structure, powerful black fruit and acidity.

This is a wine built for long-term aging.

100 Points

100 Points | Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider

Jeff Leve was equally enthusiastic, awarding the wine a perfect 100 points. The nose explodes with smoke, mint, cigar wrapper, tobacco and crème de cassis, but for Leve, what really separates the wine is its combination of elegance, concentration, complexity, extraordinary length and sensuous texture.

His conclusion gets right to the point:

“This is one of those dream wines that if you can afford it, it belongs in your cellar!”

100 Points

100 Points | Wine Advocate

Lisa Perrotti-Brown found an extraordinary combination of floral, mineral and cassis character, framed by exceptionally fine tannins and seamless freshness. Her review emphasized the wine's profound aromatics, elegance and remarkably long finish.

100 Points | Vinous

Antonio Galloni found the 2016 even more impressive from bottle than it had been from barrel. He praised the wine's combination of tremendous power and richness without heaviness, along with the classic gravel, tobacco and cedar character that makes Haut-Brion so distinctive.

100 Points | James Suckling

Suckling found tremendous black fruit and forest berry character wrapped around an intensely structured palate. He praised the extremely fine-grained tannins, vibrant acidity and seemingly endless finish, highlighting its very long aging potential.

100 Points | Decanter

Jane Anson found a wine of hidden power, with charcoal, tobacco, dark plum and damson fruit emerging as it opened. She praised its layered tannins and understated authority, concluding:

“A great wine En primeur that has settled into greatness.”

100 Points | Wine Enthusiast

Roger Voss described the 2016 as one of the finest Haut-Brions in many years, emphasizing its immense tannic structure, powerful black fruit and acidity.

This is a wine built for long-term aging.

100 Points | Jeff Leve, Wine Cellar Insider

Jeff Leve was equally enthusiastic, awarding the wine a perfect 100 points. The nose explodes with smoke, mint, cigar wrapper, tobacco and crème de cassis, but for Leve, what really separates the wine is its combination of elegance, concentration, complexity, extraordinary length and sensuous texture.

His conclusion gets right to the point:

“This is one of those dream wines that if you can afford it, it belongs in your cellar!”

Pack contains: 2 Bottles 2016 Cos d’Estournel + 1 Bottle 2016 Pagodes de Cos

100 Points | James Suckling
Reviewed February 2019

This is muscular yet so well defined and toned. Full-bodied with deep and dense fruit on the palate, yet powerful and rich at the same time. So much sandalwood and blackberry character. Chewy and rich at the finish. This is a warm and generous wine, but the alcohol is just over 13 degrees. Not that high. Love the finish. Extravagant. Magical. Try from 2025.

100 Points | Wine Advocate
Reviewed November 2018

Bottled in July 2018, it is deep garnet-purple colored and starts off a little closed and reticent, opening out slowly and seductively to reveal beautiful lilacs, rose hip tea, crushed stones and camphor nuances over a core of crème de cassis, kirsch, wild blueberries and mocha plus wafts of incense and wood smoke. The palate is simply electric, charged with an energy and depth of flavors that seem to defy the elegance and ethereal nature of its medium-bodied weight, featuring super ripe, densely pixelated tannins that firmly frame the myriad of fruit and floral sparks, finishing with epic length. Just. Magic. (LPB)

100 Points | Vinous
Reviewed August 2020

In my last sighted review of the 2016 Cos d’Estournel, I wrote: “I suspect it will close down for a period in its youth.” Perhaps it is already beginning to shut down, because though this wine was deeply impressive, it fell just a notch short of ethereal previous bottles, despite its “pixelated black fruit” on the nose and “sublime balance” on the palate. I tasted the wine twice thereafter, though this time with a 4-6 hour decant, and this revealed the Cos d’Estournel that has amazed since I first tasted it out of barrel. (NM)

100 Points | Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

If the color does not let you know you're in for a treat, the nose is going to knock you over with its floral, smoke, cigar wrapper, black cherry and cassis notes. The purity of fruit here is off the charts. The wine is all about its silk and velvet textures from that point forward. The finish is so expansive, it feels like it keeps on going, moving across an array of flavors long after you've put the wine where it was supposed to go. This is the best wine yet produced by Jean-Guillaume Prats and his team. Bravo!

99 Points | Jeb Dunnuck
Reviewed February 2019

One of the more seamless, pure, elegant versions of this cuvée out there, it boasts a saturated purple color as well as a monster nose of pure crème de cassis, gravelly, rocky minerality, tobacco leaf, crushed violets, and lead pencil shavings. One of those “iron fists in a velvet glove” wines, with full-bodied richness and beautiful structure that’s covered by thrilling levels of fruit and texture, it stays tight, compact, and incredibly focused on the palate. It’s already brilliant given its purity of fruit and balance, but it deserves a decade of bottle age and will keep for 4-5 decades.

Ten years after the vintage, Château Palmer is re-releasing its magnificent 2016 direct from the estate as the Ten Years On release, in a special commemorative label and branded wood case. The timing tells the story: a decade in, the critics have re-tasted, and the verdict is five 100-point scores (Leve, Dunnuck, Galloni, Wine Enthusiast, Anson), with Dunnuck calling it the finest Palmer he's ever tasted, ahead of the legendary '09 and '10. Margaux perfume, near-Pomerol richness, and decades still ahead of it. $424.98 per bottle, pre-arrival, ETA Winter 2027, and quantities are strictly limited.

100 Points – Jane Anson
Cassis, bilberry, cigar box, tobacco and pencil lead, with Palmer's unmistakable violet and peony perfume. Powerful, muscular and still youthful, with the structure and chiseled fruit of great Bordeaux. Anson sees enormous potential here and decades of evolution ahead.

100 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
Dunnuck calls the 2016 the finest Palmer he has ever tasted, surpassing both 2009 and 2010. Crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rock and spring flowers lead into a deep, concentrated palate with remarkable purity, balance and ripe tannins. Classic, regal Bordeaux with the potential to age for half a century.

100 Points – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
One of the most brilliant wines of the 2016 vintage. Rich and expansive, with dark cherry, lavender, spice and mocha, yet beautifully floral and refined. Galloni sees it taking its place among the greatest vintages in Palmer's history and sums it up in one word: “Magnificent!”

100 Points – Wine Enthusiast
Powerful tannins and concentrated black fruit wrapped in Palmer's signature velvet texture, with vibrant acidity providing freshness and lift. A superbly structured Palmer built for long-term aging. Cellar Selection and Top 100 Cellar Selection of 2019.

93 Points! A wild and exotic white with pineapple and cooked-pear character that turns to baked pears as well. Full-bodied, dense and layered. 70 per cent semillon and 30 per cent sauvignon. - JamesSuckling.com