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Wine Description
The Story
It has always been the Champagne PALMER founders’ will and spirit to maintain an active policy of preservation of rare and wonderful vintage wines: 1989, 1987, 1985, 1979, 1976, 1961, 1959... They are one of the prides of our House and often constitute a real revelation.
These inestimable flacons are kept many long years in a position known as "sur pointe ", that means on the wine deposit, the bottles being upright placed, necks upside down. This position allows to slow down the exchanges which are going to take place gently and smoothly between the wine and its deposit; this is the security of a “second life” for the champagne.
A long maturation of twenty years and more, in the heart of our deep chalky cellars, confers a rare complexity and a plenitude to these flacons. These wines of a luxurious golden color develop complex and elegant flavors (honey, toasted notes, coffee bean, dried fruits, spices, truffle …) and an intensity of taste concentrated in a palette of extraordinary nuances, while keeping a remarkable freshness.
The champagne “sur pointe” will keep on improving and developing its wealth until the day it is disgorged (expulsion of the deposit). This operation is made on demand, by small lots, a few weeks before delivery.
These flacons of anthology are fundamentally wines for meals. It’s around a table, in association with chosen dishes that they reveal their incredible wealth and subtlety. They always bring a supplement of refinement and allow to compose brilliant gastronomic symphonies.
Vintage 1976
This sunny and hot drought year with record heat levels across Europe led to a very early harvest, which began on September 1st. Large yields (averaging 10,359 kg/ha) of super ripe fruit produced rich and powerful champagnes, although relatively low in acidity (averaging 7.2 g/l). The acidity levels made some winemakers doubt the wines' longevity but this has since been proven wrong by a multitude of majestic 1976 Champagnes defying time. The style is unashamedly ripe, big and even fatty with plush fruitiness. By no means ‘classic' in style but nevertheless great and a forefather to the warm vintages we are experiencing now. Bollinger R.D. 1976 from magnum for example, is something to behold. Other magnificent cuvées include Philipponnat Clos des Goisses, Dom Pérignon Brut and P3, Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque, Piper-Heidsieck Rare and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne.