Tasting Notes
JancisRobinson.com 17.0
49% Merlot, 51% Cabernet Sauvignon. Very dark purplish crimson. Markedly aromatic. Very lifted with a strong undertow. Racy and vibrant, just a little green note there and even orange peel. Great tension and even a little sucking-stone character. Much more structure than usual for Alter Ego. Certainly doesn’t taste hot. Alter Ego is still theoretically made specifically to be drunk young but 2010 presented a challenge to this philosophy! ‘In a vintage like 2010, you cannot go against it,’ Thomas Duroux. This tastes like a very smart wine off its own bat. A most unusual Alter Ego. pH 3.55.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2028
Robert Parker 91
An equal-part blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Alter Ego represents 50% of the crop at Palmer. It has been an interesting second wine to take note of ever since the first vintage in 1998. The 2010 displays loads of chocolaty espresso notes, with plenty of punch, glycerin and unctuosity as well as some tannin like its bigger sister, but it is clearly meant to be drinkable at a much earlier age. It will still require several years of cellaring and should last 12-15 years.
Anticipated maturity: 2013-2028
