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. — 9 months ago

Aravind A

9.2

Pop and pour. Well, wow, I should have bought more of this. On the nose: dense plum, strawberry, cinnamon, intense without being over the top. On the palate: tar, blackberry, charcoal, dense and dark fruited...so well-balanced, fantastic length and juiciness and the finely grained tannin sneaks up on the finish. — 5 years ago

Narelle Burke

9.0

A lovely red wine for our evening! — 8 years ago

Michael Bandelato

9.2

Intoxicating nose. Ultimate dessert wine — 8 years ago

with Jessica

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9.3

Light purple. Light body. Powerful, intense flavor. Old World style, dry and spicy not sweet and fruity. This is a splendid wine, from Vieux Lazaret (the grounds of the "old hospital") bottled by the Quito family who have been vineyard owners for three centuries in this area. — 9 years ago

Patrice Conxicoeur

8.9

A classic white rhone blend from BC! elderberry nose and a sharp finish. a touch of peach. Viognier clearly dominates. Quite a lot of minerality but off-dry. — 10 years ago

Rob Sternthal

8.9

Light. Fairly smooth. You can taste the terroir in this as well. — 10 years ago

Patrice Conxicoeur

9.1

peppery and long on the palate, nice complexity but still lots of time for this wine to age gracefully... — 11 years ago

K J

9.2

Frenchie wine bar. Spicy. Well balanced. Apparently dirtiest wine cellar in France. — 11 years ago

Paul Courtright

9.5

Danke Ludwig! — 13 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.3

Great cork & freshness, needs air to fully evaluate,
K&L notes as follows

This property was a Bill Blatch favorite-and as usual I have never visited the property which is located in Begadan. Château Vieux Robin is a family owned Cru Bourgeois estate located in Begadan at the far north of the Médoc. 5th generation owners Maryse and Didier Robin have made huge strides in terms of quality since they took over in 1988. Didier Robin, who learnt his trade at Château Clarke, is a skilled winemaker and now produces 4 different cuvées of ascending quality.There are only 18 hectares of vines and Vieux Robin is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. Old school Bordeaux with 12% alcohol. Over 20 years old and still lively and fresh. No fancy oak here-just good Merlot and Cabernet.
Drink from 2021 to 2025 — 4 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

8.9

Just a tiny bit fatty but good. Total pencil shavings on the nose. Vanilla cream as I opened the bottle. — 6 years ago

Kyle Gross

9.1

Exceeded OK Syrah expectations! Wonderful wine, smelled like a BC Pinot on steroids, and had a silky finish. Great wine. — 8 years ago

Nikolay Dimitrov

9.1

Very fruity for Saint Emilion. Smells like will all the way, but might be the bret that shows through. — 8 years ago

Rick Riddle

9.0

Notes of ripe peaches with subtle oak. Well balances, smooth finish. Stronger notes than most French Whites. Great with spicy food. — 9 years ago

Antonio Bustamante

9.5

Absolutely delicious. Wines like this make memories more intense and valuable. — 10 years ago

Wineshout 💀

9.3

What a sexy beast! Deep and dark fruit, spicy and meaty even at this young age, can't wait to see what it'll develop into over the years. Syrah lovers, level up for this beaut! --- wineshout.com — 10 years ago

Phil Gurin

9.1

Truly delicious Okanagan Syrah... Drinkable and delicious — 11 years ago

with Grant

Anthony Lombardi

9.1

2003- Don't be afraid of the vintage :) 80 Grenache knit beautifully w/ 20 Mourvedre. This was the precursor to VT's "Telegramme" bottling. Dark fruit & pronounced black pepper w/ a secondary savory/umami note. — 12 years ago

Michael Phillips

9.2

Mature but should be good for a few more years. Good fruit and balance — 4 years ago

Michael Greene

9.1

Dark fruit. Meaty. Crazy aromatic. — 5 years ago

Lena Melendez

8.9

Tastes new but after breathing a little 😋 plus only $13 — 6 years ago

Dana Prescott

9.1

Really great Pinot Noir wine. — 7 years ago

Jason Gelman

9.1

fun bottle of pinot noir. rustic, cherry, woodsy bouquet with a hint of smoke. light cherry and smokey on the palette with a bitter note twist — 8 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.0

2 February 2018. Wineshop, New York, NY. — 8 years ago

Alexis Whitesides

8.9

Oscar's night 🍷 Light Brodeaux, nice price. Dusty and tannic, tart berries and white pepper. — 9 years ago

with Andrew

David Celichowski

9.0

Bright cherry, almost juicy like — 10 years ago

Andrew S

9.1

Very enjoyable. Dark fruit, pepper, bacon. — 11 years ago

Bo Shi

8.9

Big and a little spicy but not juicy. — 11 years ago

Travis Morningstar

10

Pecan pie + figs. — 12 years ago