Historical XIX Century Wine, Château Palmer (L20.13)

Historical XIX Century Wine, Château Palmer (L20.13)

Product: 10008040369
Prices start from £500.00 per case Buying options
Historical XIX Century Wine, Château Palmer (L20.13)

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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3 x 75cl bottle
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Description

A remarkable wine with a very Cabernet focused nose that is unmistakably Bordeaux in character. The Syrah component creeps up on you more gradually and the savoury gently spiced depths dance lightly across the palate, intermingling with the more ‘firming’ traits of the Cabernet with a consummate ease.

This is not a big XIX Century blend due to the more forward gentle nature of the vintage but don’t be fooled into thinking it is any less serious – in fact for me it is the best I have tried. Almost Burgundian in its elegance and delightfully fleet of foot, this remarkably complex and intriguing wine is bursting with personality and there is still more to come. A veritable triumph of a wine.
Peter Newton, Private Account Manager


An atypical Bordeaux wine from the famed Margaux estate, Ch. Palmer.  This blend has in previous guises shown a somewhat foursquare, brusqueness that I have found difficult to reconcile with the suave and balanced poise so often associated with the wines of Ch. Palmer. 

With the base year of this being the 2013 vintage, they have appeared to have hit the nail on the head and this wine sings out with a beautiful medium body, cassis, red cherry fruit with a hint of pencil shaving.  A lovely spice note flows through on the back palate. A fluid, beautifully elegant and poised Bordeaux. The wine will be approachable in its youth but will age effortlessly over the next decade or so.  2020 – 2030+.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

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About this WINE

Château Palmer

Château Palmer

Château Palmer is a leading wine estate in Margaux. Within its appellation, Palmer is certainly the closest rival to its first growth neighbor, Ch. Margaux. Although officially ranked a Third Growth, at their best, the wines of Ch. Palmer are among the greatest anywhere in Bordeaux.

The estate dates to the 17th century, though it was not until 1814 that Englishman Charles Palmer took ownership and gave it his name. In 1938, the estate was bought by four Bordeaux négociant families, two of whom – Sichel and Mähler-Besse – still own the property today. Since 2004, the estate has been led by the charismatic agronomist and oenologist Thomas Duroux, who had previously made wine at Ornellaia in Tuscany.

Thomas undertook major renovations, including completely modernizing the grape reception area, the vat rooms, and barrel cellar. In the vineyards, the technical team began experimenting with biodynamic farming, and today Palmer is among the leading biodynamic vineyards in Bordeaux. In addition to the grand vin, the Ch. Palmer’s portfolio also includes a cuvée called Alter Ego.

Introduced in 1998, Alter Ego is produced from grapes grown on dedicated plots and blended differently from the grand vin. As such, the estate regards it not as a second wine but as a distinctive cuvée in its own right.

Palmer lies in the commune of Cantenac, just outside the village of Margaux. 66 hectares of vines are planted on a plateau of gravel, sand, and clay soils overlooking the Gironde estuary. Plantings include equal parts of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon at 47% each and 6% Petit Verdot. Although the average age of the vines is fairly typical of the region at about 40 years, some of the vines are over 70 years old. That, along with the relatively high Merlot content and the benefits of careful, well-established biodynamic practices, may account for the wines’ richness and complexity.

Fermentation occurs in conical, stainless-steel vats in varying sizes, allowing each variety and parcel to be fermented separately for subsequent selection and blending. The grand vin is aged for 20-22 months in barrels, of which less than 50% is new. Thanks to the health and consistency of the estate’s biodynamically produced fruit, Palmer has been able, over the past few years, to safely reduce the quantity of sulfites added throughout the process, aiming to produce wines with more freshness and purity of flavor. For Alter Ego, less new wood is used, and aging time is slightly reduced to produce a wine the estate describes as “distinguished by its freshness of fruit, crisp intensity, and richness from the moment out of the barrel”.

Between 2008 and 2013, Ch. Palmer made the transition to 100% biodynamic farming. In addition to its vineyards, the estate is home to a diversity of complementary plants and grazing animals.

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Margaux

Margaux

If Pauillac can be seen as the bastion of ‘traditional’ Red Bordeaux, then Margaux represents its other facet in producing wines that are among Bordeaux’s most sensual and alluring. It is the largest commune in the Médoc, encompassing the communes of Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labaude, in addition to Margaux itself. Located in the centre of the Haut-Médoc, Margaux is the closest of the important communes to the city of Bordeaux.

The soils in Margaux are the lightest and most gravelly of the Médoc, with some also containing a high percentage of sand. Vineyards located in Cantenac and Margaux make up the core of the appelation with the best vineyard sites being located on well-drained slopes, whose lighter soils give Margaux its deft touch and silky perfumes. Further away from the water, there is a greater clay content and the wines are less dramatically perfumed.

Margaux is the most diffuse of all the Médoc appelations with a reputation for scaling the heights with irreproachable wines such as Ch. Margaux and Ch. Palmer, but also plumbing the depths, with too many other châteaux not fulfilling their potential. There has been an upward shift in recent years, but the appellation cannot yet boast the reliability of St Julien. However, the finest Margaux are exquisitely perfumed and models of refinement and subtlety which have few parallels in Bordeaux.

Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Margaux, Ch. Palmer, Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Ch. Rauzan-Ségla , Ch. Dufort-Vivens, Ch. Ferrière, Ch. du Tertre, Ch. Giscours, Ch. d'Angludet.

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Merlot

Merlot

The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.

In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.

Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.

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