2012 Alter Ego de Palmer, Margaux, Bordeaux

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Alter Ego needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock notes of baked plums, boysenberry preserves, and spice cake, followed by suggestions of Indian spices and cigar box. The medium-bodied palate has a firm, grainy texture with plenty of evolved fruit and a refreshing backbone, finishing savory.Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent (February 2023)

Another brilliant example from administrator Thomas Duroux and his team, the intense second wine, Palmers 2012 Alter Ego (51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Petit Verdot), offers up plenty of blackberry and crme de cassis notes along with some spring flowers, licorice and subtle background oak. Opulently textured, full-bodied and stunning, this is an outrageously successful second wine to drink over the next 12-15 years.Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/04/2015

Superb colour, dense, spicy, quite succulent black fruits, powerfully elegant with Cabernet building on the finish.

18% press wine, pH 3.65. Quite strong leafy Cabernet aromas, but lovely freshness and round tannins. Is this like Palmer of old? I don’t think I would guess this was majority Merlot...Just slightly green on the end. 13.4% jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com, 22 Apr 2013

The second wine, which has gone from strength to strength over recent years, the 2012 Alter Ego de Palmer, is a blend of 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Petit Verdot. Spicy and earthy, displaying notes of new saddle leather, roasted herbs and meaty barbecue, it is a medium-bodied, fleshy, attractive wine to drink over the next 10-12 years. Thomas Duroux produced a brilliant 2012 Palmer that is unquestionably one of the stars of the vintage. High levels of tannin were up there with their best vintages, at least analytically. The final blend of 48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot results in a style of wine that is totally different than that of its nearby neighbors, Chateau Margaux, Rauzan-Segla and Malescot St.-Exupery. robert_parker - Wine Advocate - Apr 2013

Offers notes of smoke, roasted herb and cassis bush, with solid plum fruit. Shows grace on the palate, delivering dark, silky fruit and caressing tannins lined with an iron edge. Tasted non-blind. james_molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 8 2013