Château Palmer 2016 (often offered in an “Ex-Château 2026” ten-years-on release) is the Grand Vin from this Margaux Third Growth, an estate long noted for performing above its 1855 classification. Palmer’s vineyard is reported at 55 hectares, on gravelly soils with quartz stones, between Cantenac and Margaux. The élevage is typically 20–21 months in barrel with 50–70% new oak, the wine is not filtered, and it is traditionally clarified with egg whites (estate information). Alcohol is cited at 13% by one source.

The blend for 2016 is reported inconsistently: one technical summary gives 55% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, while another reports 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. What is consistent is the picture of a ripe but composed Palmer shaped by the vintage’s “hot, dry summer followed by a cool, sunny autumn,” which one merchant says allowed “perfect ripeness.”

Critically, 2016 is one of the estate’s most celebrated modern releases. Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Advocate) rated it 98 points, calling it “wonderfully rich, concentrated and packed with latent energy,” with “super ripe, incredibly fine-grained tannins” and “epic length.” James Suckling went even higher at 99–100 points, describing a “mesmerizing” wine that is “equally structured and powerful as the 2015,” yet marked by “underlying intellectual serenity”—an unusually pointed nod to balance as well as scale. Jancis Robinson scored it 17.5+ and emphasized lift, writing that it is “complex and energetic,” with “energy and freshness” alongside “lots of sweetness.”

In short, Palmer 2016 is framed by reviewers as a complete Margaux: deep-fruited, floral-tinged, confidently structured, and built for long aging, with multiple excellent top-tier reviews placing it among the benchmark wines of the vintage.