- Château Palmer 2023 has been released for £2,880 per 12×75.
- ‘A breathtaking wine’, said Antonio Galloni, awarding a potentially perfect score of 98-100 points.
- Buyers looking for value have several options in back vintages.
As part of this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, Château Palmer 2023 has been released at €240 per bottle ex-négociant, down 18.6% on the 2022 release (€295 per bottle).
It is being offered by the international trade for £2,880 per 12×75, a 19.5% decrease on the 2022’s opening price (£3,576 a case).
Today’s release price makes the 2023 one of the most expensive vintages available. Buyers looking for value have several opportunities among back vintages, notably the 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. See more pricing analysis below.
Palmer has secured a place in the last six editions of the Liv-ex Power 100.
Critical response
According to William Kelley (The Wine Advocate), the ‘beautiful’ 2023 Palmer is ‘lush and enveloping, with a cool core of fruit, succulent acids, ultra-refined tannins and a seamless, complete profile’. He awarded a score of 96-97 points.
‘The 2023 Palmer is full of coiled energy and lift’, said Jane Anson , awarding a score of 97 points. The describes an aromatic palate with ‘a ton of graphite, crushed rocks, crushed roses and peonies, along with clearly defined and sculpted blue and red fruits’.
Neal Martin (Vinous) awarded the wine a barrel score of 95-97. According to him, ‘it’s more opulent than almost all other Margaux wines this vintage, furnished with black pepper and allspice on the finish’.
James Lawther MW (Jancis Robinson) awarded a score of 17.5 /20 points, commenting that the wine is ‘definitively structured to age’.
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) gave the wine a potentially perfect score of 98-100 points. He calls the wine ‘inky, rich and explosive, a real head-turner’.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent) awarded a score of 96-98 points. Though ‘a little broody and subdued to start’, she says, ‘notes of tar, damp soil, and crushed rocks soon give way to a core of fresh blackcurrants, wild blueberries, and Morello cherries with a touch of iron ore’.
Pricing analysis
According to the Liv-ex Fair Value methodology, Market Prices of Château Palmer are 61.3% correlated with scores from Jeb Dunnuck. As shown in the chart below, today’s release falls above the Fair Value regression line. Buyers looking for value opportunities have options in back vintages.
The 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020 vintages all fall below the trend line and represent Fair Value.
The 2016 vintage, receiving perfect scores from Dunnuck, Jane Anson and Antonio Galloni, may present reasonable value to buyers. At a Market Price of £2,810, it is available at a slight discount to today’s release.
Both the 2019 and 2020 vintages are available at a discount of 27.1% to today’s release. Fans of Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW may opt for the 2019, which received her highest score of the past decade, 99 points.
The 2018 vintage, while falling above the trend line, received a perfect 100-point score from Neal Martin, Jane Anson and Atonio Galloni and may be a compelling option for buyers. It is available at the same price as today’s release.
Use our ready-made list to easily spot opportunities in back-vintages of Château Palmer and other Left-Bank wines.
Other releases
Château Palmer’s second wine, Alter Ego, has also been released today at £708 per 12×75.
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 page contains everything you need to know about this year’s campaign. You can also sign up for our daily En Primeur email alerts using the form below.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
