2015 Palmer Alter Ego

Tasted blind. Light nose. Some mineral quality. Rather interesting! Definitely a cut above its peers. Lovely texture and some salinity. Complete. (JR)

The 2015 Alter Ego has a delightful nose with poised and finely delineated brambly red fruit, undergrowth and light rose petal scents. The oak is very well integrated, though I notice a little maltiness with time. The palate is fleshy and medium-bodied with supple tannins and moderate depth. This has a mixture of black and blueberry fruit with a sense of purity on the finish, yet it just degrades in the glass and there is a strong, distracting espresso element. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting.

The 2015 Alter Ego de Palmer has an odd, slightly static bouquet of black cherry and mulberry fruit that is not as vigorous as some of its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with soft, furry tannin. There is good density here, but not the tension and precision that define the best wines of the appellation. Maybe it is enduring a dumb phase. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.