Ch. Palmer
3rd Growth Grand Cru Classe
Margaux
2009

The producer

Although classified as 3^rd Growth in the 1855 classification, Chateau Palmer is thought by many to be producing wines of 1^st Growth quality. Palmer is named after the first English owner, Major-General Charles Palmer, in the early 19^th century, and has for many years been shoulder to shoulder with Chateau Margaux in producing the best wines of the commune.

Palmer is unusual in the high proportion of Merlot (from fabulously located, very old vines) in the blend, combined with equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and more than a dash of Petit Verdot. The historical care taken in the vineyard continues today with the adoption of biodynamics and plot-by-plot winemaking. Obviously, the terrain suits this mix as Palmer retains power with its renowned finesse.

Simply a stunning expression of the Margaux terroir, to this day Palmer remains in the highest stratum of wine quality in the Bordeaux region. It is a wine often of first growth standard, especially in top years.   

The wine

Fruit for the Palmer Grand Vin is sourced from the estate’s best vineyards located on the plateau directly behind the chateau. Vine age varies from 40 to 70 years old, and the blend is usually made up of 47% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. Fermentation is in conical stainless-steel tanks with indigenous yeast – each  variety and parcel is fermented separately. Finally, the Grand Vin is aged in 60-70% new oak for 20-22 months.

A wine of velvety and rich texture, full body, complexity and precision, above all it has purity and is thought by many to be of First growth quality.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.