Chateau Palmer

Beef, Lamb, Game (deer, venison), Poultry

The place of origin is the vineyard. Everything comes from there: the grandeur of the wine, its noblesse, and its identity. 66 hectares of gravely soil overlooking the river, spread out around the château in the heart of the Margaux appellation.

For long ageing in barrels and foudres – more than 20 months – is essential to fully instil the wine with the expression of its soil. Slowly, it develops the ample flesh and body needed to mature and grow into its robe of tannins. After being “captured” in the bottle, Palmer’s wine is still in the early stages of its life. It can age for years and decades, before it finally unveils the full scope of its aromatic richness and complexity.

A gentleman officer and aide-de-camp of the Prince of Wales Charles Palmer was famous at the English court as a ladies man and for his military victories. He fell under the spell of Bordeaux as well as the charms of Marie de Gascq a beautiful widow who convinced him to buy her estate. Charles Palmer devoted a great deal of time energy and money to developing his property. The Major General lived mainly in England and so the estate was managed by his authorized representative Mr Grey who helped to increase the wine's reputation among wealthy connoisseurs. In June 1853 the brothers Isaac and Emile Péreire famous bankers and rivals of the Rothschilds bought Palmer and began investing in the estate immediately. However there was not enough time to bring Chateau Palmer up to first growth status in time for the famous 1855 classification. It was thus ranked a Third Growth although it is widely recognized as among the greatest wines of Bordeaux. Several families of Bordeaux English and Dutch extraction all involved in the wine trade united to buy Palmer in 1938 and have worked hard to give the estate its present reputation. These families have always given priority to quality despite the financial risk this entailed. They have unfailingly applied the principles that have made the great wines of Bordeaux so successful: authenticity quality and permanence.