Château Palmer (in english) tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2012:/en//29 2012-02-02T15:10:25Z Movable Type Pro 4.23-fr Winter work in the vineyard, between technique and tradition: tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2012:/en//29.4647 2012-02-02T13:55:26Z 2012-02-02T15:10:25Z There's no rest for our vineyard workers who, as soon as harvest had finished and the first cold days arrived, started the autumn and winter work on Château Palmer's 55 hectares of vineyards. Their tasks are carried out with great... Château Palmer http://www.chateau-palmer.com There's no rest for our vineyard workers who, as soon as harvest had finished and the first cold days arrived, started the autumn and winter work on Château Palmer's 55 hectares of vineyards. Their tasks are carried out with great care but always in the interest of efficiency so that everything will be ready for the awakening of the vines in the spring. A balance perfectly mastered by our vineyard workers.
 
Pruning:
Taille.jpgPruning is of capital importance. Its completion will not only directly influence the upcoming vintage, but also the production of the vine for years to come. Just as in the art of pruning a bonsai, pruning the vine also requires a thorough know-how that involves rigorous training to master the technique. Our more experienced vineyard workers pass their knowledge on to the new arrivals.
At Château Palmer we use the "médocaine" pruning method, in which each vine stock is left with one "cane" (a long branch) on both sides of the trunk.  
At present, the Merlot vines are pruned.  Our vineyard workers will now begin pruning the Cabernet Sauvignon vines, a variety at high risk for vine diseases and needing to be pruned as late as possible.
This task has always been entrusted to our most experienced vineyard workers. By late afternoon, Pierre-Alain, Team Leader, invites his 8 coworkers to begin the next plot.
 
Removing the canes:
This operation consists of removing the recently cut canes from the vine supports.  To facilitate this task, the supports from the previous year are taken down with the help of a small billhook.  This traditional cutting tool, simple and efficient, the size of a knife, has a dished blade sharpened on the inside to facilitate cutting the ties.
 
Tying the trunk:
Acanage.jpgObserving "acanage", or tying the vine trunk to the marking stake, is a unique moment. As the morning mist rises, the sun shines on the orange-colored ties used to maintain the vine trunk upright against the marker.  By a series of skillful movements, the team of vineyard workers with their expert hands, tie the "vime" around the trunk and the wire.  This natural string is a willow twig that grows close to Château Palmer, on the banks of the Garonne River.
 
Training:
Done at the same time as tying the trunk, training is intended to fix the remaining canes to the wires in order to guide the growth of the future vegetation to respect the row.  Jacques Dupin, Vineyard Director, considers the vine a type of wild plant that must be guided, places great emphasis on this work.  The cane must be bent, in the form of an arc, towards the soil. This favors the growth of buds along the entire branch.
 
Replanting:
Our two tractor drivers scrutinize each plot to detect any dead vines.  They are delicately removed and will be replaced by young vine stock in the spring.


We invite you to discover the picture album to illustrate these winter work in the vineyard.
]]> Blending notes, 2011 vintage: tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2012:/en//29.4633 2012-01-16T13:33:35Z 2012-01-19T15:17:52Z Château Palmer http://www.chateau-palmer.com DegustationAssembalges.jpg
Between December and February reigns over the technical team of Château Palmer a studious atmosphere conducive to making an exceptional vintage.  The tasting sessions to prepare the final blend take place during this period.

Magical moments, with measured gestures and refined palates, which allow us to imagine the final structure of Château Palmer and Alter Ego 2011.
 
A play in several acts
 
In order to maintain a certain distance and allow the different batches to continue ageing, the blend tastings take place in several steps.
 
The first act is to blind-taste all of the batches.  Very useful, this tasting session allows our tasters to identify the characteristics of the different parcels and their expressions in a specific vintage without knowing their origin.  A way of leveling the playing field that can lead to some nice surprises.
 
Neither too early nor too late, our tasting committee came together again the following week.  Faced with 33 samples, our refined palates began to take note of the characteristics of each batch.  First the Merlots, then the Cabernets Sauvignons, finishing with the Petits Verdots.
 
Since the beginning of the year our quintet, to be discovered below, has been working on the most meticulous of tastings.  To attribute each batch, in function of its style, its correlation to Château Palmer or Alter Ego.  A delicate decision, the gourmand samples offering an intense fruit will harmonize nicely with the touch of smoothness and roundness found in Alter Ego. What is more difficult is to be able to decipher the potential for ageing that will enter into the partition for Château Palmer.
Listening closely, Olivier Campadieu, our Cellar Master, carefully blends what will be the foundation for each wine.  Not to give away any secrets, but our team seems to have been seduced by some beautiful Merlots.
 
In two weeks time our tasting professionals will come together one or many more times in order to harmonize and give birth to the opus that will best represent Château Palmer's interpretation of the 2011 vintage.
 
A plurality of actors
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During these blend tastings, Chateau Palmer brings together a company of experts combining knowledge of the vineyard and experience in fine wines. In order to be perpetually challenged, these actors play a key role in the final debate of assembling the two wines.
 
Sabrina Pernet, our Technical Director, and Thomas Duroux work together. Both are well placed to understand the character of each plot. During the season they roam the vineyards and make decisions concerning winemaking and aging. Choices that will have a direct impact on the outcome of these tastings.
Together they will decide on the nature of the final blend taking into account the views provided by three specialists.

Our team brings in Bertrand Bouteiller, who ran the property for almost forty-two years. A valuable contribution that allows us to preserve the Palmer style over many vintages.
 
Jacques and Eric Boissenot intervene as winemaking consultants. Our two authorities in fine wines of the left bank provide an expert description of each sample.
 
Once the two compositions are finalized, the blending will be carefully preserved until the 2011 Primeurs, taking place in early April. The appointment is made.

We invite you to discover the picture album to illustrate these magic moments.
]]> Enthusiastic trainees tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4611 2011-12-14T08:40:56Z 2011-12-14T10:09:41Z It hads become somewhat of a tradition at Château Palmer, and the estate once again decided to welcome several trainees this year. During their mutually beneficial internship, they acquire know-how and experience, while the technical team will benefit from the... Château Palmer http://www.chateau-palmer.com It hads become somewhat of a tradition at Château Palmer, and the estate once again decided to welcome several trainees this year.
During their mutually beneficial internship, they acquire know-how and experience, while the technical team will benefit from the experiments performed by these highly motivated future viticulturalists.
 
Twenty-five year old Lucie Lauilhe joined the château's team in March to undertake the work- experience part of her studies. A recent graduate of Montpellier University with a degree in agricultural engineering, Lucie continues her studies towards a Diplôme National d'Oenologie (DNO) in Bordeaux while working in the Palmer vineyard and cellars. A true lover of fine wine, she perfected the cartography of the vineyard begun last year in order to limit the use of chemical inputs.
 
Lorenzo.JPGAnother trainee, 22 year-old Lorenzo Pasquini, is a dyed-in-the-wool Italian who can spend hours explaining the differences between the Tuscan vineyards and his new second home in the Médoc. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in viticulture and winemaking from the University of Pisa, Lorenzo decided to broaden his experience by training at Château Palmer. This provided ideal practical applications to accompany the DNO studies he is undertaking in Bordeaux. Lorenzo's experiment dealt with the effects of biodynamic viticulture on both the vines and wine at Palmer.
 
Céline Carrion has been in charge of tours at Château Palmer for the past 9 years. She took advantage of the period during which the cellars and winery are closed for renovation to prepare a BTS advanced vocational course in viticulture and winemaking - while applying what she learned at Château Palmer. For example, among her numerous activities, Céline helped in devatting the new wine as well as measuring must density during alcoholic fermentation. Thanks to this hands-on experience, our guide will soon know everything there is to know about winemaking techniques at Château Palmer!
 
While Lucie imagines a future career as a winemaking consultant, Lorenzo dreams of going to Australia or California in order to discover new techniques, very different from those in the Médoc. As for Céline, she will be delighted to welcome you starting in July to take you on a tour of the newly renovated estate.
 
In order to thank our three new future professionals, Château Palmer invited them to a unique meal prepared by our Chef, Olivier Guibault.

CelineLucie.JPGThe icing on the cake (or, rather, the strawberry parfait in this instance...), was when Thomas Duroux, who hosted the meal, decided to open wines from their birth years.  Château Palmer 1986 and Château Palmer 1989 were thus tasted with enormous pleasure, keeping in mind the challenging, but unforgettable times during the vinification.  
 
We would like to raise a toast to our three trainees, and wish them the best of luck with their careers !


]]> First impressions on the 2011 vintage. tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4587 2011-11-09T09:23:41Z 2011-11-10T11:10:19Z Château Palmer http://www.chateau-palmer.com 1EchantillonsBD.jpgThe lowest yields since 1961.
The 2011 harvest is marked by a limited production. Going back through our archives we found that it was the lowest yield since the mythical 1961 vintage (11.8 hL/ha versus 20hL/ha for 2011).
 
A meticulous vintage.
The extra time dedicated to sorting the grapes helped us to preserve the quality of this vintage, allowing us to avoid the consequences of the hazardous weather conditions suffered this year.
In the winery, after analysis, alcohol levels are lower than the 2010 vintage yet the wine shows a surprising acidity.  Due to the combination of adverse weather conditions and a small yield, the berries show an incredible phenolic potential.  In order to preserve these beautiful tannins, we extracted as gently as possible.
Such attention to detail plays a role in the elegance and precision of this Château Palmer 2011.
 
Promising signs to be confirmed.
Malolactic fermentation, which has just begun, will play an essential role in understanding the vintage.  There is an important amount of malic acid this year; its transformation in lactic acid will contribute in perfecting the wine's balance.
The final harmonies of Château Palmer 2011 will be composed during tasting sessions where we will define the blend, beginning mid-December.  It is a delicate composition entrusted to our technical team, fully committed to the completion of the 2011 vintage.

]]> Palmer 2011: How this vintage benefitted from an experienced team and technology. tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4578 2011-11-02T09:56:48Z 2011-11-02T10:20:24Z Château Palmer http://www.chateau-palmer.com
Coupe.jpgIn harvesting this 2011 vintage, we focused on selecting only the best of what the vine gave us.  This year the hailstorm of June 4th, followed by the high temperatures of early summer, resulted in a heterogeneous yield.

For this year's harvest, we chose to use Optical Eye Sorting to help us in our selection.

Our harvesters were responsible for the first sorting phase in the vineyard where they discarded the dried bunches from the crop.

The second phase of selection occurred when the bunches were placed on the sorting table.  On a 6 meter-long table, the sharp eyes and quick hands of our sorting team carefully removed the damaged bunches.

After the berries had been separated from the stems, they continued on to our Optical Eye Sorting machine.  It chose the berries according to our own quality criteria, for a tailor-made selection.  The machine was adjusted to keep only those berries that had a certain degree of ripeness.  The dried or withered berries were removed as well as any remaining leaves or stems.

This constant attention insured that the quality of the harvest was respected.

We also added a second and final sorting table to have one last look at the harvest.

This combination of 3 selection phases, in the vineyard, on the sorting table and by the Optical Eye Sorting machine, allowed us to preserve the qualities of the 2011 harvest and to avoid the climatic hazards experienced this year.

To learn more about our first impressions of this 2011 vintage, we invite you to click here to read an interview with Thomas Duroux, CEO of Château Palmer, done by The Wine Cellar Insider.

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]]> Harvest 2011 - September 20th update tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4550 2011-09-20T11:58:11Z 2011-09-20T13:43:40Z 
The first week of harvest was sunny and warm, which allowed our Belgian and Danish students to spend their weekend discovering the beaches of the Atlantic coast. This two-day break allowed the last Merlot grapes to round out; some berries... Château Palmer This two-day break allowed the last Merlot grapes to round out; some berries needed a little more time to soften the structure of their tannins.

As of today, our harvest team has picked 18ha of Merlot, a variety dear to Château Palmer as it is planted on our grand terroir, giving our wine its distinctive finesse.
By Wednesday, we should have all of the Merlot picked, then sorted, before heading to the fermentation cellar. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot will follow.

For the third consecutive year, we've benefited from beautiful weather conditions for harvest: sunny and warm during the day, with cool nights. Unfortunately, many grey clouds darkened the skies this weekend, bringing with them some raindrops and raising fears of the development of Botrytis. But this year at Palmer the yields are quite low, decreasing the risk for the development of this mushroom, responsible for grey rot.

The dry spring, the hailstorm on June 4th and the heat wave at the end of June, played their part in eating away at our harvest yield. The vine has few berries but all of its energy goes into producing the best fruit possible: the grapes picked in 2011 are very rich in phenolic compounds.

In the winery, we currently have 15 tanks fermenting that perfume the fermentation cellar. The first juice is colorful and rich with serious tannins. Alcoholic degrees, very classically, are between 12.5% and 13.8% TAV. Our daily tasting sessions run by the technical direction team allow us to adapt our methods of extraction to respect the character of each parcel.

]]> Summer time! tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4482 2011-06-23T15:24:13Z 2011-06-23T15:26:15Z Château Palmer  
These two continuous months of sunshine, accompanied by warm weather, allowed the vine to develop at an exceptional speed.  Rarely has flowering been so early, almost 3 weeks ahead of last year (full flowering was between the 9th and the 16th of May), leaving us to believe that harvest may be earlier than usual too.
 
The 2011 vintage already seems to be synonymous with historical vintages for its precociousness.
 
Unfortunately, a strong hailstorm hit our vineyard on the 4th of June.  Not wishing to prejudge the quality of a vintage that this magnificent spring allows us to hope for, we already expect a low yield as a result of the hailstorm. We have since had a few saving rainstorms that allowed the vines to recover their strength, the berries can continue their development, and plump up to a satisfactory size before veraison.
 
After desuckering, our vineyard workers continued the green work in the vineyards and should finish up today with suppressing the secondary shoots, lifting and topping the vines.
 
Now let's wait and see what Summer 2011 has in store for us...]]> The flowering is going beautifully tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4423 2011-05-16T08:03:17Z 2011-05-16T08:05:15Z What delicious aromas - for the past several days, the vines are giving off the most refined, subtle, and attractive perfume!After a trying winter, the first buds appeared a few weeks ago and we are delighted to welcome these ephemeral... Château Palmer flower5.1.jpgWhat delicious aromas - for the past several days, the vines are giving off the most refined, subtle, and attractive perfume!

After a trying winter, the first buds appeared a few weeks ago and we are delighted to welcome these ephemeral blossoms and their complex bouquet.

The vines are flowering, and it's pure magic!
]]> Moth mating disruption tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4408 2011-04-21T13:12:06Z 2011-04-21T13:20:34Z Their names are Lobesia botrana and Eupoecilia ambiguella.They may sound like pretty flowers... but they are actually nasty pests! These moths produce caterpillars, also known as "grape worms", which do a great deal of damage in the vines. They burrow... Château Palmer Their names are Lobesia botrana and Eupoecilia ambiguella.
They may sound like pretty flowers... but they are actually nasty pests!

papillon2.jpgThese moths produce caterpillars, also known as "grape worms", which do a great deal of damage in the vines. They burrow into the ripening grapes, perforating the skins and fostering the spread of grey rot - a terrible scourge in the vineyards, quite unlike the noble rot in Sauternes.
The best way to protect our precious vines is to prevent the enemy from mating! Small dispensers release synthesised pheromones that disrupt olfactory communication between male and female moths. The males become disoriented, desperately searching for their female alter ego. When they cannot find the females, they become exhausted and give up...

Mating disruption replaces traditional insecticides and is species-specific, so it has no impact on human health and plants and does no harm to beneficial insects, thus maintaining biodiversity.

This inspired Yaron Herman and Michel Portal to dedicate one of the pieces they played at the "Hear 2010" concert to this phenomenon!
Listen to their music as often as you like, on the Hear 2010 section of our website.
]]> Music on my mind... tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4398 2011-04-15T08:46:17Z 2011-04-18T07:14:31Z 25 March 2011 - 13:50. A musical score lying on a table at La Gare Gourmande restaurant, a few kilometres from Margaux. Yaron Herman has just written the final bars of the piece he will be playing with Michel Portal... Château Palmer
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25 March 2011 - 13:50. A musical score lying on a table at La Gare Gourmande restaurant, a few kilometres from Margaux. Yaron Herman has just written the final bars of the piece he will be playing with Michel Portal in a few hours' time. 

Their music has been inspired by everything the artists have seen, smelt, touched, and tasted during their stay at Château Palmer.



On the previous day, the two great jazzmen were walking through the vineyards, guided by Thomas Duroux, who was initiating them into the secrets of each plot.

The hardness of the gravel, the softness of the budding leaves, the emotion of the weeping vines, the powerful currents of the Garonne River, flowing just a few metres away ... the magnificent terroir of Palmer, reflected so strongly in our wines.



Next, they tasted the 2010 vintage, starting with the wines made from each individual vineyard plot, then the final blends of Alter Ego and Château Palmer.

Our guests were won over - they had understood.





20:00. The concert.

Michel Portal and Yaron Herman played a masterly improvisation, full of their feelings, words, emotions, and memories. An amazing duo! 



During the 90-minute concert in the ageing cellar, surrounded by ageing barrels full of 2010 Palmer, the musicians focused sometimes on the wines and sometimes on the elements, minerals, and terroirs that they embody - in perfect harmony.

The tribute to 2010 Alter Ego took the form of a piano solo by Yaron Herman. The music's expressive freshness, softness, smoothness, and intensity conveyed the character of this wine quite magnificently.

2010 Château Palmer was performed by Michel Portal as a bass clarinet solo. This more intimate piece reflected the emotions of a man's discovery of a great wine. The musician's heavier, deeper tones surrounded us, disturbing and intoxicating us... in a voluptuous trance!



Then Michel Portal played his soprano saxophone inside the piano lid, facing Yaron Herman, in a perfectly-meshed duet. 

They played a series of pieces, including "La Confisuon Sexuelle des Papillons" ("The sexual confusion of moths"), a highly-poetic set with colourful chords and inspired riffs.

The audience was enchanted. Michel Portal and Yaron Herman gave an incredible performance, living each moment of their music to the full and sweeping the audience away with them to another universe.
Unforgettable!



Subtlety, harmony, power, balance, and freshness: all these adjectives are equally applicable to the music performed that evening and to our 2010 wines, preview-tasted "en primeur" by the 70 guests at the end of the concert.

Musical emotions, olfactory and tasting sensations... a memory that will linger forever at Château Palmer.




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PS: we would like particularly to thank:

- Christophe Deghelt, the musicians' manager, who also supported us last year with Jacky Terrasson

- France Musique radio, for broadcasting the concert, making it possible for a wide audience to share this wonderful experience with us.
]]> Jazz à Palmer tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4361 2011-03-18T15:53:50Z 2011-03-21T08:59:29Z Château Palmer In 2011, a few days before the start of the en primeur campaign, we have decided to celebrate the 2010 vintage in music, and we are very pleased to welcome Michel Portal and Yaron Herman.

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Jazz à Palmer : a common philosophy
Like jazz, Château Palmer has deep roots, with a long history that has undergone many influences and inspirations and, while traditional, is always open to innovation. This respect for tradition is constantly enhanced by expanding its limits - while remaining faithful to its roots.

Jazz is a blend of tradition and innovation, memory and improvisation, listening and dialogue. Thanks to their musicality and technical expertise, strong artistic connections, and a palpitating atmosphere, the musicians set the scene and perform in total liberty.
Wine is the same, combining terroir, climate, grape varieties, science, and technology. However, creating fine wine also takes inspiration, good taste, expertise, and an excellent memory that ties everything together. That is how great wines are made.

Rendezvous on March 25th at 10:30 pm (GMT+1)
Michel Portal, one of the greatest clarinettists, and Yaron Herman, an impressive young pianist, will first explore Château Palmer's world, its terroir, its history, its wines - and more specifally the last-born ones, Château Palmer 2010 and Alter Ego 2010.
Thanks to this vision, they will interpret and perform the vibrations they feel from the 2010 vintage: its originality, its nuances, and its soul transposed into music on the night of the concert.  

The concert can be heard, in partnership with France Musique, on Friday, March 25th at 10:30 pm :
- on Château Palmer's site
- on Facebook 
- on France Musique, "Jazz Club" by Yvan Amar.  
 
Prior to the concert, Alex Dutilh  will devote his "Open Jazz" programme to a special "Jazz et Vin" theme, including interviews with Thomas Duroux, Managing Director of Château Palmer, Pierre Gagnaire, chef of the famous three-star restaurant, Estelle Touzet, head sommelier at the Hôtel Meurice, and François Théberge, saxophonist and winegrower.]]> Prune early, prune late tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4316 2011-02-08T16:54:17Z 2011-02-08T17:07:41Z In the heart of winter, our vineyard workers brave the cold and rainy weather -- conditions that are harsh and trying to say the least -- to maintain and prepare our vines so that they will be ready to begin... Château Palmer
20101210_taille_175x175.jpgIn the heart of winter, our vineyard workers brave the cold and rainy weather -- conditions that are harsh and trying to say the least -- to maintain and prepare our vines so that they will be ready to begin their next growth cycle in the spring.  It's already time to prepare for the 2011 vintage!

During this period, we spend the majority of our time in the vineyard pruning the vine, tying it to the support post, trimming off and burning the cut branches, and shaping the remaining ones to their wire tutors.

Pruning at Château Palmer:
The vine is a creeper that needs to be controlled.  If nothing is done, the vine will produce numerous long branches, with sluggish production. Pruning is one way to control, balance, prolong and improve the vine's production, maintaining a precise shape to facilitate cultivation and tying up.

Pruning requires a very specific savoir-faire and is reserved for the most experienced vineyard workers who know what needs to be conserved and how to maintain the form of each vine.

At Château Palmer we use the "médocaine" pruning method. It's known as cane pruning, where we leave three buds for each branch.  This limits the production of grapes, improving their quality by concentrating sugar levels in the limited number of grape bunches.

20101210_taille_175_2.jpgOur vineyard workers began pruning the vines in November. This will continue until the month of March, when the vine's dormant period comes to an end.
"Prune early, prune late, nothing is as good as pruning in March", say our elders: in February/March, the sap begins to run in the stock, the vine "cries" and is less vulnerable to disease.  Which is why we begin with the Merlot, before moving to prune the Cabernet and the other younger, more vulnerable vines.]]> Nice profile on The Wine Cellar Insider tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4295 2011-01-26T08:25:55Z 2011-01-26T08:56:17Z Jeff Leve has written a very nice and complete profile of Chateau Palmer on his website : The Wine Cellar Insider. Starting with an introduction of Chateau Palmer's history, he enters in the memory of our VAT room and finally... Château Palmer http://www.chateau-palmer.com
Starting with an introduction of Chateau Palmer's history, he enters in the memory of our VAT room and finally describes the characteristics of our wines.
Have a look at it : http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/?p=12303

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]]> Encouraging learning tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2011:/en//29.4288 2011-01-20T08:10:04Z 2011-02-11T14:30:12Z Château Palmer has a yearly tradition of welcoming one or more interns to our team.In 2010, three interns joined our team with goals of developing their skills, putting their knowledge into practice and also giving us some extra support during... Château Palmer In 2010, three interns joined our team with goals of developing their skills, putting their knowledge into practice and also giving us some extra support during key moments of harvest and wine making.

stagiaires_2.jpgMarie Thomazo, 22, has a degree from the Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture in Angers. Marie arrived at the Château in April 2010, after having spent a year abroad at a winemaking university in Chile. Her main mission is to develop a map of the sensibility of the vineyard to developing mildew.  The aim is to then better plan treatments to combat disease.  Marie also greatly participated in the winemaking process that began during harvest, just like our other two interns.

Estabin Fortin and Jimmy Herbert, respectively 22 and 21, are both in their last year of studies for the Diplôme National d'Oenologie, in Dijon and Bordeaux.  They arrived in June for the first part of their internship, during which they assisted our vineyard director, Jacques Dupin, with pruning the vine.  An important exercise in team management, "which allowed us to grow and learn" according to Jimmy.
 
From September to December, they took part in the wide range of duties associated with the winemaking process in order to have a global and comprehensive vision of this particularly important phase in the making of our wines.

Their feedback at the end of their internships was unanimous. They were enthusiastic about such a rich experience, bringing to light the importance of terroir in expressing the intrinsic qualities of wine: requiring a great deal of work in the vineyard throughout the year, to be exploited in the cellar in order bring out the best.

Esteban is hoping to find new winemaking missions, and eventually become a cellar director. Jimmy would like to continue his education with the aim of becoming an agronomist.  Marie would like to head to the United States to continue her education in Californian wineries.

We wish all 3 of them the best of luck in their upcoming adventures.
]]> Pumping over, running off, devatting, pressing, funneling...before blending (2/2) tag:blog.chateau-palmer.com,2010:/en//29.4204 2010-11-12T09:48:25Z 2010-11-12T09:55:02Z Château Palmer  
The tasting team is attentive to the harmony and style of the wine, and takes into consideration how this corresponds to the grape's potential.  Which is how we decide when to run off the wine.
 
entonnage_165.jpgThis is a decisive step because the young wine, still called "free-run wine", is forever separated from the grapes that gave birth to it.  During the past few weeks of gestation in tanks, yeast has transformed the sugar into alcohol; the juice has developed its aromas and taken on tannins, finding the structure to become a young wine. It is an undeniable achievement, rewarding a year of hard work in the vineyard and now, in the winery.
 
After running off the wine, the tank still holds the pomace, a mixture of grape skins and seeds.  This is delicately collected and placed in our vertical presses, reproducing the traditional methods of pressing.  With our method of winemaking (controlled and gentle extraction), and the quality of pressing, we obtain an excellent "press wine", and quite complementary to the "free-run wine", which allows us to use up to 5 or 10% of them in the blends.

We funnel our "free-run wine" and our "press wine" into barrels in order to begin their long period of ageing.  The barrels are carefully selected according to the know-how of our different coopers, matching the toasting level and our different parcels, the quality of the terroir, and how the samples taste. We try to optimize the marriage of wine/wood in order to favor the alchemy between these two elements.
 
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When malolactic fermentation (the transformation of malic acid into lactic acid) has finished, the barrels are moved into the "Pope's Cellar", the wine cellar where the temperature never exceeds 14°.

And so each wine slowly begins to age, developing unique characteristics that will be appreciated during the upcoming tasting sessions for the final blend...
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