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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
Budding in mid April was relatively late. The vines flowered quickly and evenly in early June and ripening was long and slow throughout the cool, damp summer. The vines were in excellent condition, however, and this lead to high sugar levels and excellent concentration.
The Cabernet Sauvignon wines in particular were dense and rich with the spicy, complex aromas characteristic of this variety at its best.
Harvest dates: from 09/23/1996 to 10/08/1996
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon: 55%
Merlot: 40%
Cabernet Franc: 4%
Petit Verdot: 1%
http://www.jancisrobinson.com, Jancis Robinson, 09/14/2009
« Deep youthful garnet. Open, sweet dark and spiced fruit. Smell the sun. Spice and truffles coming through as it opens up. You can still smell the sweet toasty oak though this was not the first vintage of new vats. Rich sweet pure fruit. Firm but rounded tannins and long aromatic finish. Fine cedary aftertaste. Very pure and direct and frank, some herbaceousness adding aroma but not greeness.
Drink 2007-22 »
The Wine Addict, Olivier Collin, 05/01/2006
« Arborant une couleur encore très profonde avec des reflets teintés par l'évolution du vin, le vin présente un nez réticent au début du service, avec des notes de fleur fanée et d'herbes sèchées. Ce profil austère se dégage lentement, ce qui laisse croire qu'un passage en carafe prolongé aurait bien aidé ce vin à un stade intermédiaire de son évolution. Bel équilibre pour l'attaque en bouche, le vin est encore passablement structuré et présente actuellement un fruité légèrement en retrait. Le vin se développe ensuite très bien sur le palais, atypique pour le cru dans la mesure où il est très droit,mais doté d'une très bonne longueur. Lorsque ce vin s'ouvrira aromatiquement, pas avant 5 ans à mon avis, il pourrait se révéler plus grand. »
Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate, 09/01/2005
« Composé à 55 % de cabernet sauvignon, à 40% de merlot et à 5% de petit verdot, le 1996 de Palmer se montre sous un bon jour en bouteille. Arborant une superbe robe d'un pourpre soutenu, il s'annonce par un nez peu évolué, mais intense, de prune noire, de groseille, de réglisse et de fumé. L'attaque en bouche révèle un fabuleux fruité, qui s'estompe ensuite au profit de la structure et des tannins de l'ensemble. Ce vin étonnamment peu évolué mais doté de manière impressionnante, pourrait se révéler la version moderne de son ainé de 1966. Il regorge de fruit, ses tannins sont bien fondus, mais il requiert une garde de 3 à 4 ans avant d'être prêt. »
Wine International, Jacques Lurton, 07/01/2005
« Classic with a floral and cedar nose. Balanced with fresh acidity and a good lenght. »
www.wine-dinners.com, François Audouze, 06/01/2005
« Vin opulent, à la texture d'une finesse raffinée, ce vin à la jeunesse folle est éblouissant. Il est magnifique comme il est là. Il se bonifera bien sûr. Mais à ce stade on le goûte bien. »
ChinaDaily, Maggie Beale, 05/01/2005
« there was an added 4 per cent Cabernet Franc in this blend. Rich ruby colour with pronounced black cherry and cassis aromas. The paltry amount served was the dregs of the bottle and too tiny to assess the palate properly.
»
Wine International, Robert Joseph, 04/01/2005
« Classic with rich bramble fruit and good oak. Well made with some complexity. »
Tasting
Tasting notes from Enrico Bernardo, 12/01/2011:
Ruby-red with slight garnet-red highlights.
Fairly closed bouquet, but showing hints of pepper, black fruit, blackcurrant, paprika, and blackberry.
Rich, tannic, generous, long, oaky, and well-defined on the palate. Wonderful ageing potential. A great vintage.
Tasting notes from Georges Lepré, 02/04/2012:
Beautifully dense garnet red.
The nose opens with notes of plum, crystallized blackberries, vanilla, cinnamon, and, with air time, smoky and musky notes appear.
Clear fruitiness and vigorous freshness on the attack, following through with a noticeable tannic structure and lovely fleshiness, developing harmoniously into a sustained, tasty and still fresh finish.
Still at its peak, this wine will retain its qualities for at least ten years. Decant it two hours before serving.
Vintage 1996
1996 presents itself as a “classic” Bordeaux year, although – as Jancis Robinson MW wrote – not in the “lean” sense; Although Farr Vintners director Tom Hudson told the drinks industry it may have been a "very good" rather than "really great" year as it was not uniformly excellent across the region .
As a reminder, 1996 was a particularly promising vintage for Médoc wines. The Berry Bros & Rudd website boasts: “This is one of the great post-war vintages for Médoc Cabernet wines. These are rich, complex and beautifully balanced wines, full of ripe, pure fruit and with the structure that will allow the best wines to age over the next decade and beyond.
The Right Bank, on the other hand, is described as “distinguished” but “overshadowed” by the 95s – which was a particularly good vintage for Saint Emilion and Pomerol.
It was also an excellent vintage for white Bordeaux.
Robert Parker's scores tend to favor the Left Bank, although some of the best Right Bank wines have also received very respectable reviews.
Only two wines received 100 points: Lafite and Latour, Margaux was ranked 99, Léoville Las Cases 98, Ducru Beaucaillou 96 and Pichon-Comtesse 96.
La Mondotte was the highest rated right bank wine with 97 points, Ausone was the second highest rated with 93, as was L'Eglise Clinet, while Gomerie, Petrus and Le Pin settled for 92 and Cheval Blanc 90 .
With almost 20 years, the wines have naturally appreciated and now that they are well within their drinking window, demand will almost certainly start to push prices even higher for the most in demand among them.
The figures are often impressive, to date Lafite has seen an increase of 657.9% since its release, its second wine Carruades is up 592%, Latour is up 437%, Petrus is up 400% and Pichon Baron is up 240%. %.
