2018 Château Palmer Margaux Grand Cru Classé

From December to July, incessant rains caused the development of mildew. In the summer, the vines concentrated their energy on the remaining grapes. Their power reached an exceptional level. All this led to an unprecedented decision: every lot would be selected for the blending of Château Palmer. A rainy winter accompanied the dormant vines, which caused the soil to become damp and the buds to form late. Despite our care, the rain that continued to fall during the spring months, combined with very mild temperatures, led to the development of mildew with an impressive virulence. Fortunately, the weather improved dramatically under exceptional conditions.

The summer was hot and dry. The véraison began in the first week of August and allowed the process to catch up on the delay. In August and September, the sun was ideal, the nights were cool and there was not a drop of rain. All these conditions combined allowed an exceptional degree of maturity. Due to the low yield, the vine concentrated all its energy on the remaining bunches, leading to a tannic and aromatic concentration in the grapes rarely seen in the estate's past. Sorting was of paramount importance this year. The daily tastings during the winemaking process confirmed the incredible qualitative potential of the harvest. Each plot was exceptionally powerful and concentrated, which led us to make an unprecedented decision: that they would all be part of the final blend of Château Palmer. A vintage that will undoubtedly make history...

The grapes were harvested from September 13 through October 10. The wine is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. With yields of just 11 hectoliters per hectare, Château Palmer produced only about a third of a normal harvest. There will be only about 6,000 bottles of Palmer in 2018. There will be no second wine this year. “But,” said Technical Director Thomas Duroux on the bright side, “in 1961 we only got 12 hectoliters per hectare.” The problem was powdery mildew during the first part of the growing season. It didn’t help that Palmer’s commitment to organic/biodynamic viticulture was simply not enough to prevent the latest wave of powdery mildew infections that hit after the rains of July 4. “The mildew was so aggressive this year,” sighed Duroux. “Even after the forests were closed, the mildew persisted. It was very difficult to deal with; there are no rules.” Fortunately, it became dry and warm soon after, which provided optimal conditions for the ripening of the rest of the harvest. “I have never seen such concentration and such depth in the ripening berries in my career. Our decision was to take our time. A very important factor was to harvest each plot with perfect phenolic ripeness. It took us more than a month to harvest just 600 hectoliters!” Duroux concluded our conversation by saying the following about the winemaking: “We had to be very careful with the extraction. The IPT in 2010 – a tannic vintage – was 65. This year it was 85. This is the most powerful Palmer ever.” The result is simply breathtaking, my perfume award for 2018 goes to Palmer".

The wine is deep purple-black in colour, the nose is a bit reserved at first, but with insistence it slowly emerges and shows violets, wood, bark and iron ore with exponentially growing notes of crème de cassis. Later follows black plum jam, hoisin, Christmas cake and red roses with hints of earth, spices and ground black pepper. Full, concentrated and downright powerful in the mouth, with a solid structure of firm, deliciously soft tannins and masses of fragrant accents, with a very long and very spicy finish. WOW!

FACT : In the Tab: Attachment you will find the official fact sheet of this beautiful wine. We will automatically send it to you when you order this wine. The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to collect the wine you will often also receive a nice discount. You will see the possible discount immediately if you choose Collection on the Checkout page. We are located almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for address.