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 Vintage1960 Label 1 of 474 
TypeRed
ProducerChâteau Palmer (web)
VarietyRed Bordeaux Blend
Designationn/a
Vineyardn/a
CountryFrance
RegionBordeaux
SubRegionMédoc
AppellationMargaux

Drinking Windows and Values
Drinking window: not specified
Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Palmer on the Wine Market Journal.

Community Tasting History

Community Tasting Notes (average 91.5 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 3 notes) - hiding notes with no text

 Tasted by abh on 6/17/2012: Drinking some old bottles...: Lots of obvious tertiary characteristics, mushrooms and forest floor, along with tobacco and almost citric notes, with a core of genuine fruit still at the centre of it all. Clearly old bordeaux, but I'm not sure the Margaux side was still there, although it was far gentler than an also ancient Latour alongside. (5389 views)
 Tasted by Lord of the Bottles on 10/7/2011 & rated 93 points: At Roberson's Old Wine Event (October 6, 2011). Contender for WOTN. Clay, gravel, dark fruit, tobacco, leather. Very smooth and very balanced. (4702 views)
 Tasted by Herb Blair on 12/23/2010 & rated 90 points: drank for my wife's 50th birthday with the Reames. Brick red, cloudy filled to neck. Cork was wet and moldy to the top. Nose was wonderful floral. Mouth was light and feminine typical of Margaux. Had a remarkable creamy palate. (5212 views)

Professional 'Channels'
By Neal Martin
Vinous, Margaux Focus 2: Château Palmer (Aug 2023) (8/1/2023)
(Palmer Palmer Red) Subscribe to see review text.
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels)

CellarTracker Wiki Articles (login to edit | view all articles)

Château Palmer

Producer website - Read more about Chateau Palmer



Château Palmer, whose pedigree architecture is a hallmark of its superb produce, is an undisputed star of the prestigious Margaux appellation. History reports that in the 18th century, its wines (under the name Château de Gascq) were held in very high esteem at the court of Versailles, then later by Louis XV. Its vineyard lies upon the famous gravel hillocks home to the greatest of Médoc wines.
A time-proven blend of grape varieties, especially thorough vineyard management and wine-making strickly designed to respect a superb 'terroir' constantly produce wines of immense expression, unrivalled elegance and charm, exceptionnal aromatic complexity and legendary subtlety

Owner: Société Civile du Château Palmer, formed in 1938 by families of French, English and Dutch origin.
Origin: Charles Palmer, English Major General purchased the estate in 1814. A passionate entrepreneur, Charles Palmer expanded and modernized the estate and gave his name to one of the most beautiful properties in Margaux.

The terroir:
Area: 55 hectares spread over the rises of Cantenac. Most of the plots are located on the plateau of thin gravel from the Güntz period, situated along the water.
Soil: Plateau of thin gravel from the Güntz period
Grape varieties planted: 47 % Merlot, 47 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 % Petit Verdot
Average age of the vines: 38 years

The Team:
CEO: Thomas Duroux
Technical Director: Sabrina Pernet
Cellar Master: Olivier Campadieu
Vineyard Manager: Jacques Dupin
Oenologist: Jacques Boissenot

Red Bordeaux Blend

Red Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.

Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.

France

Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)

Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings

2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.com

Bordeaux

Bordeaux Wine Guide

Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)

History of Bordeaux

History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification

"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson

"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson

"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson

"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon Rimmerman

Médoc

Vins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the Medoc

VdB

The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines.

Margaux

Read more about Margaux and its wines As with a large part of the Bordeaux vineyards, vines first appeared in Margaux during the Gallo-Roman period.
In 1705 a text mentions Château Margaux . But we have to wait for the end of the eighteenth century and the coming of the earliest techniques in aging for the concept of wines of high quality to develop. The confirmation of this was the famous 1855 classification which recognized 21 Crus Classés in the Margaux appellation. One hundred years later, the Viticultural Federation and the Margaux appellation of controlled origin were born. The appellation, which stretches out over five communes, is actually unique in the Médoc in that it is the only one to contain all the range of wines, as rich as they are vast, from First Great Cru Classé to the Fifths, not forgetting its famous Crus Bourgeois and its Crus Artisans.

In Margaux there is a predominance of Garonne gravel on a central plateau of about 4 miles in length and one and a quarter wide. To the east-south-east, it overlooks the low lying land by the estuary. Its east side is marked by gentle, dry valleys and a succession of ridges.The layer of gravel in Margaux was spread out by a former Garonne in the early Quaternary. Rather large in size, it is mingled with shingle of average dimension and represents the finest ensemble of Günz gravel in the Haut-Médoc. It is on this ancient layer on a Tertiary terrace of limestone or clayey marl that the best Médoc crus lie. All the conditions for successful wine are present : a large amount of gravel and pebbles, poor soil which cannot retain water and deep rooted vines.

It is customary to say that Margaux wines are the "most feminine" in the Médoc, thus stressing their delicacy, suppleness and their fruity, elegant aromas. This does not affect their great propensity for aging; just the opposite, for the relatively thin terroir imparts tannins which give them long life. The other characteristic of these wines which combine an elegant vitality, subtlety and consistency, is their diversity and personality. Over and above the flavour which is their "common denominator", they present an exceptional palette of bouquets, fruity flavours which show up differently from one château to another.

Production conditions (Decree dated August 10 1954)
In order to have the right to the Margaux appellation of controlled origin, red wines must:

- come from the commune of Margaux, Cantenac, Soussans, Arsac and Labarde, "excluding the land which by the nature of its soil or because of its situation, is unfit to produce wine of this appellation".
- satisfy precise production conditions: grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare).

Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot
Soil: Gravel and silt plateau on a layer of limestone or silt on clay
Surface Area: 1,530 ha

 
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