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News
96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Medium saturated color. Intense, rich nose with notes of blackberries, blueberries, prunes, violet, mocha, musk, spice, and cedar. Opulent on the palate with resolved tannins. The wine’s freshness and softness are perfectly combined. It’s delicate, yet complex; there’s a lot going on as it changes in the glass. The finish is very long with a licorice accent." (05/11) 90 points Wine Spectator: "An outstanding Palmer, firm and solid, with great dark color and fresh plum aromas and flavors with a hint of new wood."
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
After cold, damp weather in the first 5 months of the year, June was warm and dry so that flowering took place in excellent conditions. A heatwave in July was followed by warm, damp weather in August that unfortunately encouraged the spread of diseases. Thankfully, September was dry and hot, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly. After a string of hot, sunny days at the end of the month and into early October, sugar levels were similar if not superior to those in 1982.Thanks to Palmer’s exceptional terroir, 1983 produced concentrated wines with ripe tannins that have retained all their richness and vigour.
Harvest dates: from 09/28/1983 to 10/13/1983
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon: 53%
Merlot: 41%
Cabernet Franc: 4%
Petit Verdot: 2%
Tasting
Tasting notes from Enrico Bernardo, 12/01/2011:
Limpid, garnet-red colour.
Complex, but still reticent. Good potential. Hints of mushrooms, red fruit jam, raspberry, sweet spices, rose petals, and gentle on the nose.
Round, mature, smooth, and intense with excellent tannin. Long aftertaste with a gentle retro-nasal effect. An aristocratic wine.
Tasting notes from Georges Lepré, 02/04/2009:
The wine’s garnet color is still quite intense, showing only faint reddish-brown hints.
After being in contact with the air, the bouquet shows a large aromatic palate. Notes of mild spices, mocha, musk and cedar wood, quickly follow the imposing aromas of blackberries, blueberries, and prunes.
An opulent fruit and an impeccable freshness, which highlight the wine’s mellow aspect, compliment the very mature tannin structure. It all comes together magnificently and shows real personality before finishing with notes of licorice and violets.
The balance and irresistible charm of this vintage lets one imagine that it should keep until 2020…at the very least.
Press Review
The Wine Cellar Insider, Jeff LEVE, 06/13/2010
« This still looks young! Cassis, dark berries, flowers, coffee and five spice aromas put the spring in the aromatics step. Full bodied and packed with layers of silky, elegant, ripe fruit. The tannins are ripe and round. The long finish fills your mouth with purity, intensity of flavor, velvet laced textures, freshness and balance. This stunning Bordeaux wine ends with a long, ripe, plush, fresh blackberry filled finish. This special wine keeps getting better every time I taste it. Still young, this will age and improve for decades. »
Vintage 1983
Bordeaux / If 1981 was forgotten after 1982, the 1983 was completely eclipsed by 1982, although the harvest was large and of high quality throughout Bordeaux. Too much humidity caused by heavy rains hampered production in many places. At Margaux, some wines were even better than 1982. For example, Château Margaux announced that their 1983 surpassed the 1982. One of the best Palmers of all time was Palmer 1983.
The best wine of the vintage, however, was Le Pin – without a doubt. It’s a real bargain, not only for the quality, but also for the price at 1 550 euros per bottle, compared to Le Pin 1982 at 6,500 euros in 2020. Cheval Blanc has also done fabulously. Yquem began a new climb this year. Graves was hit by a hailstorm which resulted in a small and virtually non-existent harvest.