Palmer｜Margaux｜Wine Couple HK

Palmer

1855 Third Growths Grand Cru Classes

Values. Château Palmer is living history. It inspires respect, for its soils and its vineyards, but also for its wines. The result of centuries of viticulture and vinifications, honed by the pursuit of a singular vision. A style unto itself. A benchmark for all future endeavours. For at Château Palmer, change is never an end in itself, but a means to serve both today’s and yesterday’s wines. It’s the fruit of a precious freedom. The freedom to constantly reassess, to question, to never be afraid of taking carefully calibrated risks. With at heart, an unchanging ideal – to ever improve, not just for the wines, but also for their artisans and the environment all around them.

James Suckling-亞洲最具影響力的酒評家

漫畫《神之水滴》

第二使徒

Biodynamics. Neither a preconceived idea, nor a posture. At first, biodynamics was simply an experiment, sparked by curiosity. The first trials in 2008 proved inconclusive, so meetings were organized with adherents of the method. Slowly, it became evident what truly lies at the heart of biodynamics: a return to the essence of farming. And thus an idea became a conviction – to turn the page on a monoculture, and to recreate a living agricultural organism, in all its diversity.

Now, sheep graze, grass grows, flowers and plants with healing properties bloom, and agrochemicals have disappeared. With biodynamics, complexity becomes a source of shared enrichment, where the fruits of human labour benefit people, plants, and all that surrounds. An exquisite equilibrium.

神之水滴推薦酒款，一眾酒友追捧 !!

Community. The men and women of Château Palmer share more than a place of employment. Together they embrace common values: dynamic, curious, passionate, open-minded and determined, they live for and with the vineyards. This shared spirit is united in one place – the Village. Sited at the foot of the château, it was originally designed to house cellar masters, vineyard managers, vignerons and winemakers. Today still, it brings together all the estate’s know-how and knowledge. A community, without question.

The terroir. Behind every great wine is a great terroir. Château Palmer’s has a natural logic: a long strip of land set between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde estuary. Behind the alluvial land of the palus sits the Brauzes plateau, the first gravelly terrace. This is well-drained land, rich with the deposits of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, but washed clean of organic matter.

Difficult soil for agriculture, but exceptional for grape growing. Yet the vines still need help to fulfil their potential. So the men and women of Château Palmer carefully prune leaf and shoot to create a natural balance, channeling the plant's vitality towards something greater – producing the finest possible grapes. What more natural expression for an age-old vine, its roots reaching deep into difficult soils, guided by a sensitive hand? Such is a demanding terroir.

目前，Palmer 莊園擁有 66 公頃葡萄園，坐落在第四紀冰川期形成的貧瘠礫石高地上，俯瞰著 Garonne。園內土壤由 Garonne 和 Dordogne 沖積而成，礫石含量高，也有高比例黏土。土質貧瘠，排水性佳。葡萄園種植有 47% Cabernet Sauvignon、47% Merlot 和 6% Petit Verdot，平均樹齡為 38 年。秉承著尊重風土及可持續發展的理念，酒莊從 2008 年開始嘗試採用生物動力法管理葡萄園， 2014 年起旗下葡萄園全部採行生物動力法耕作，並且在 2017 年取得認證。葡萄園內不使用任何農藥，將土壤、葡萄樹以及其他動植物視為一個相關聯的整體，強調生物多樣性，並依據日月星辰的變化，在恰當的時間進行修枝剪葉和採收等一系列工作，力求在最自然的狀態下培育出能真實反映風土獨特性的葡萄果實。

當葡萄達到最佳成熟度時，酒莊採用人工採摘方式採收葡萄，採收回來的葡萄經過人工篩選、光學篩選以及破皮等工序後，接著通過重力的作用被運送至發酵罐裏。酒莊目前共配備了 54 個圓錐形發酵罐，可實現單獨發酵不同地塊、不同品種的葡萄果實。完成發酵後，酒液會在橡木桶中熟成 20-22 個月，其中新桶的比例低於 50%，以凸顯出葡萄酒的天然特質。Palmer 莊園一大特色便是混釀的 Merlot 比例高，通常情況下左岸都以高比例 Cabernet Sauvignon 為主，而 Palmer Cabernet Sauvignon 比例卻經常低於 50%，反用更多 Merlot，同時會輔以少量的 Petit Verdot，為求種植最合適的葡萄，去最大化風土特色～所以 Palmer 的果香都會較澎湃外放，更柔順豐滿，但又得保持足夠的酸度和酒體去長年陳熟～

ALTER EGO Reinterpreting Château Palmer’s terroir

Spontaneity. That sudden desire to indulge without delay, Château Palmer wished to gratify. Thus, while remaining true to its philosophy, another expression of its terroir came to be. Since the 1998 vintage, a new approach to selection and blending has yielded this supple and rounded wine, distinguished by its freshness of fruit, crisp intensity and richness…from the moment out of barrel, it's all that’s natural, bottled.

波爾多 1855 梅多克列級莊分級制度

除了"副牌"外，Palmer 也生產 2 款特別酒款，一款是非常量產，以Muscadelle 和 Sauvignon Gris 混釀的波爾多白酒，自 2016 起才公開發售。酒莊在 90 年代在酒窖發現了 1925 年的 Palmer 白酒，所以決定重新種植白葡萄，在 2007 年重啟。

而另一款 Palmer historical xixth century 就更新奇，85% 的 Cabernet Sauvignon 和 Merlot 各半，加上 15% 的 Rhone Syrah，標作 Vin de France 出售！而這的故事更有趣！

在 2005 年時，一位美國收藏家和 Thomas 一起品嚐舊年份的 Palmer，當中更有一枝是 1869 年的！ Thomas 驚嘆這就像在咬一舊雲一樣！所以萌生起回歸 19 世紀釀酒傳統的想法，當時波爾多酒加入隆河葡萄是合法而正常的操作，所以他當作遊戲和釀酒精神的實驗，在 2006 年實行，一試後決定正式推出！

而因為不合法規酒標也沒標上年份，以 L.20.20 即 2020 年來代替。