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Wine Description
The Story
Vintage after vintage, the wines of Château Palmer express our vision of an exceptional wine. We believe that it is born of the mysterious trilogy – terroir, history, memory – and all of our efforts are concentrated on bringing it into the world. Distinction, high standards and commitment are the values that guide every choice we make from the vineyard to the table where the wine is served.
Knowing
Knowing your terroir, your grapes, and your wines – this is a threefold enterprise of patient observation. What seems to be a given is in fact a matter of exacting standards at every moment. To know the terroir you have to become intimately familiar with it. We strive to know the grape variety, subsoil, and exposure of each and every plot but also of each and every row within the plot, as we regard every vine as a unique individual. To know our grapes well, we closely monitor their development until maturity. To know our wines, we taste the batches, the vats, the barrels, and the bottles again and again.
Understanding
Progress in œnology has provided us with insight into the development of wines. Progress in agronomy has given us a better understanding of the life of our vineyards. This makes for more precision in our interventions as much in the winery as in the vineyards. Applying the best technical innovations in a spirit of reconciliation between science and craftsmanship, we use all relevant means to reveal the unique character of the Palmer terroir with each new vintage.
Creating
With the grapes that nature offers us, our job is to create the best possible wine. Is this craftsmanship or artistry? No doubt both. Like skilled craftspeople that love their trade, we select and blend the batches with meticulous care. And like artists, we let ourselves be swept away by the work that is born, as it imposes itself upon our will, surprises, amazes and transcends us.
Kindling desire
Ultimately our goal is to make Château Palmer wines as desirable as can be. To achieve this, everything we do, whether we work in the vineyard, the winery, or in the offices, is informed by high standards and a sense of detail Nothing is left to chance, not the choice of paper for a label, or that of an etching for the wood crates, or of a theme for a reception.
Wine Information
Characteristics of the vintage
Damp conditions in spring meant that flowering was late and extended.
There was, however, little coulure (absence of flower set) and 1979 was ultimately a record-breaking year in terms of volume.
Although the summer months were generally fine and dry, there were some rainy periods and temperatures were below average. Harvesting was late but conditions remained good throughout.
Where growers had made an effort to control yields, maturity was good; the berries were small and healthy with firm tannins and good acidity levels.
Harvest dates: from 10/03/1979 to 10/16/1979
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon: 58%
Merlot: 36%
Petit Verdot: 4%
Cabernet Franc: 2%
Ageing potential
2020+
Tasting
Tasting notes from Enrico Bernardo, 12/01/2011:
Garnet-red colour with some bricking.
Expansive, very elegant, complex, and mineral bouquet - almost Burgundian. Balsamic, rose petal, cherry jam and black pepper aromas.
Very elegant, refined, and intense on the palate, accompanied by a light structure. Somewhat chalky finish reminiscent. Very charming.
Tasting notes from Georges Lepré, 02/04/2009:
The wine is a beautifully deep ruby color.
The colour is that of an old wine, but remains quite deep.
The nose is fairly concentrated after swirling in the glass. Floral at the beginning, it goes on to reveal hints of cedar, smoke, and tobacco.
1979 Palmer starts out very full and rich on the palate with fruit in brandy flavours.
Soft, rich, medium-long aftertaste.
Press Review
http://www.bbr.com, Alun Griffiths, 11/11/2012
« 1979 was not renowned as a great year but there are, in any years, chateaux which excel themselves and deliver a wine way above expectations. Such a wine is Palmer 1979. The vital months of July and August proved wet and cool but fine weather in September and October saved the day and the grapes harvested were healthy, ripe and abundant. The best wines, and only the best will have survived this long, are plump, round and succulent, and Palmer has, in addition, that touch of floral aromatics and elegance on the palate for which it is renowned.
(Alun Griffiths MW, BBR Wine Director) »
, George SAPE, 01/11/2010
« This wine was a real surprise for me, as I was unfamiliar with this vintage; really good nose, sweet and perfumed, quite floral and aromatic with herbs and minerals on the one hand and the traditional darker aromas of tar and earth on the other, chocolate, sweet spices, and a soft acidity round out a complete and full nose; drier in the mouth than Palmer often produces, but the focus in this wine is on red fruits rather than black; there is a nice balance in this wine, and it is full if a little simple at the finish. »
Vintage 1979
Bordeaux / The year 1979 partly repeated the 1978 vintage with a wet and cool spring, a hot summer, a cool and dry autumn. Dry whites did well this year while reds, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, struggled to reach full physiological maturity. Once again, Mouton was a disappointment. The right bank did better with Merlot. The best wine of the vintage is the first Le Pin ever produced. Other excellent wines worth mentioning are La Mission Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion. Haut-Brion was a bargain at 200 euros. Sauternes wines also turned out to be quite good, the best of which was Yquem.