Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Vieux Château Palon – 2021
Montagne-Saint-Émilion AOC – Right Bank, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A distinctive Right Bank Bordeaux, this cuvée flips the classic Merlot-dominant Saint-Émilion script. Instead, it is crafted from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc, making it unusually bold, structured, and aromatically lifted for the appellation.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, blackberry, and cassis dominate, with graphite, cedar, and tobacco leaf from the Cabernets. Subtle violet and peppery notes emerge from the Franc.

Mouthfeel
Firm tannins, medium-plus body, and a long, savory finish. More muscular and linear than many Montagne-Saint-Émilions, leaning toward Left Bank style but with Right Bank elegance.

Food Pairings
Grilled ribeye, lamb chops with rosemary, cassoulet, duck confit, aged Comté or Tomme de Savoie cheeses.

Verdict
An atypical but fascinating Montagne-Saint-Émilion that highlights Cabernet structure over Merlot plushness. For those who love Pauillac or Saint-Julien, this bottle is a bridge into the Right Bank world. Cheers!

Did You Know?
Montagne-Saint-Émilion is one of the four “satellite” appellations of Saint-Émilion, known for offering excellent value Bordeaux reds. Few estates here lean so heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes Palon stand out stylistically. — 3 days ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.3

A little VA which blows off. Then a cherry freak show which calms down. Dark and morello cherries. Chalky. 13.5%. Quite rich and a little atypical for E&M. Needs more time to resolve fruit (3-5 years). — a year ago

Conrad Green

9.5

Quite ripe for Rav. Peach, melon honey, chalk. A touch more exotic than the others. Atypical but very good. Balanced — 3 years ago

with BOT, Tony and 3 others

Turd Ferguson

9.3

The most atypical Lambrusco. Basically a brut Rose champagne. Fire. — 3 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Another big boi from this producer. Obviously uses at least a significant proportion of partially dried grapes. Fairly saturated color. Nose is rather subdued, reluctantly giving up scents of leather, underbrush, crushed rock, and dark cherry underneath all of that non-fruit stuff. In the mouth, it’s big, with initial slightly bitter, extracted notes. Tannic. Dissimilar from straight Valpos in its size and austerity. Dissimilar from Ripasso-style Valpos in that the fruit is not especially ripe or sweetish. It will go well with our stuffed shells in red sauce, but is a little challenging on its own. It occurs to me that this might fit in well in a tasting of 2017s from the left bank in Bordeaux. In other words, very atypical for a Valpo. Still, it’s pretty good, as long as you don’t harbor any expectations of typicity.

UPDATE: two nights later (using a vacuum closure), this has actually improved. Kind of amazing for a Valpo of this age. The fruit has moved closer to front-and-center, and it seem a bit more Calpo-like, though it’s still pretty large-framed. Upping score from 8.8 to 9.0. — 10 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Medium deep ruby core , medium wide ruby garnet rim . Quite slow and fat tears. Quite exotic nose , slightly high toned, lots of ripe spicy blackcurrant , dark cherry , blackberry and underneath a grafite and earthy note , marine scents also . On the palate round, ripe and sweet dark fruits, blackcurrant , blackberry and dark cherry , touches of grafite and cigar box. Surprisingly good , even refreshing acidity , ripe ample tannins; there is great intensity here. Balanced alcohol even though it is quite decadent and rich, lots of glycerin . Very long and succulent but balanced finish with touches of mineral and tobacco. The plumpness and exoticism does come across as pretty atypical for Latour , though it is a real success for the vintage and an undeniably enjoyable wine. Drinking ok now , with a decant of an hour or two but really did improve over the 5 hours we had it open. Will obviously last and improve over the next 20 years and I’m sure go further still . — 3 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Intense but way softer and fruitier than expected, likely due to vintage conditions. Intensely mineral on the nose but vying for primacy with copious amount of deep orchard fruit (greengage?). Rich and intense in the mouth. Lowish acids. Very very good but seemingly atypical (or maybe this is global warming typical). — 7 months ago

with Rebecca and Angelo

Jeroen Koenen

9.2

Quite funky, almost Jura-like in its presentation.
Don’t know if this is an atypical white burgundy. Or maybe it’s already showing some evolution.
Like it nonetheless. — a year ago

Michael Walsh

9.3

Fantastic atypical Bordeaux that provides the right level of intrigue — a year ago

Ming L

9.0

A producer I’ve always wanted to try. And this is certainly atypical. I mean where can you find a chard with 12.2% abv nowadays.

Expressive nose of peach, lemony citrus, subtle pineapple, and hint of elderflower. The palate is surprisingly round and textured, balanced by fresh medium acidity. Almost oily but remains nimble. The finish is crisp and lightly saline. — 3 years ago