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Producers
Alter Ego de Palmer Carillon d’Angelus Carruades de Lafite Château Angélus Château Ausone Château Belgrave Château Calon-Ségur Château Cantemerle Château Cantenac Brown Château Climens Château Clinet Château Cos Labory Château Cos d’Estournel Château Coutet Château de Camensac Château de Ferrand Château de Fieuzal Château d’Yquem Château Ducru Beaucaillou Château-Figeac Château Fleur Cardinale Château Fombrauge Château Giscours Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Château Gruaud-Larose Château Haut Bages Libéral Château Haut Batailley Château Haut-Brion Château Haut-Marbuzet Château Kirwan Château La Fleur Petrus Château Lagrange Château La Gurgue Château La Mission Haut Brion Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lanessan Château Langoa Barton Château Larrivet Haut Brion Château Latour Château La Tour Carnet Château Latour Martillac Château Léoville Las Cases Château Léoville Barton Château Léoville-Poyferré Château L'Evangile Château Les Grands Chênes Château Lynch-Bages Château Malescasse Château Margaux Château Marquis d’Alesme Château Maucaillou Château Monbousquet Château Montrose Château Mouton Rothschild Château Palmer Château Pape Clément Château Pavie Château Pédesclaux Château Pétrus Château Phélan Ségur Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Château Pontet-Canet Château Pouget Château Poujeaux Château Rauzan-Ségla Château Rieussec Château Sigalas-Rabaud Château Taillefer Château Talbot Cheval Blanc Echo Lynch Bages Le Petit Mouton Marquis de Calon Pagodes de Cos Petit Haut Lafitte Vieux Château Certan
Producers
Château Palmer
Sometimes bigger isn’t always better. And sometimes, well, it is. Incorporating a massive 80-hectares of red wine vines, plus a further 80 of forests and parks, Third Growth Palmer has consistently been punching above its weight for over a decade. Smooth, supple and sensuous, Château Palmer is one of the belles of Bordeaux.
St Thomas of Medoc
The upturn in Palmer’s quality is largely due to the arrival of oenologist Thomas Duroux, who has systematically set about turning Palmer into one of the most enviable red wine estates in all Medoc. Young, forward-thinking and well, just damn lucky, Duroux has converted 66 hectares of the estate to biodynamics, refusing to use chemicals even when the threat of mildew and possibly botrytis was looming. Of the 2016 harvest, he says, “It has been a year of strange weather: a wet spring and a dry summer with no rain for almost two months,” he continues, “but this harvest season is perfect. I have a smile on my face”.
Historical XIX Century Wine
Duroux luck continues. The year of his arrival, 2004, saw Palmer produce one of its best vintages to date. Christened Historical XIX Century Wine, this was a beauty of a red wine, and extremely rare to boot (just 100 cases were released for retail sale). Based on what oenologists believe would have been a 19th-century blend, collectors beware, this is not a Grand Cru in any way, shape or form. Labelled as a vin de table because of its 15% Syrah, the label does not (rather cannot) classify the vintage. But eagle-eyed collectors will notice the words “lot.20.04”, certifying its year. Palmer tried to recreate their success with the Historical in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2013, but nothing came quite as close to the 2004. Currently, it trades at over €407 a bottle.
A sharp rise in price
Unfortunately, Palmer has become a very expensive red wine. Certainly, the quality has increased but so too have prices, 300% from 2004 to 2005. Duroux justifies this by saying that while the price is high (2017 futures was €192), the wine will double in value before maturation, therefore investment, particularly in younger vintages is wise. The last, great vintage they produced was 2015, released at €210 a bottle, now trading at over €349 in Asia and North America.
Notable facts and vintages
  • 1961 Château Palmer was deemed one of the finest wines of the 20th century, receiving Robert Parker’s “perfect 100”; this legendary red wine inspired the now widely-used term “Super Second”.
  • The estate’s “top wine” is considered “best” of 2018 Bordeaux, according to Decanter (99 points). Interestingly for this vintage, Château Palmer was in the midst of a three-year study employing a “music box” and theory that sound waves not only encourage the flowering of vines but “can also help to control diseases, [such] as Esca or mildew,” according to CEO Duroux.
  • 2011 Château Palmer marked the lowest yield produced since the highly acclaimed 1961. A concentration of quality that did not go unnoticed by critics James Suckling and vinous’ Antonio Galloni, who both gave a perfect 100.