Chateau Palmer 2005
- Producer Chateau Palmer
-
Blend
53% Cabernet Sauvignon
40% Merlot
7% Petite Verdot - Country France
- Region Bordeaux
- Appellation Margaux
- UPC 0 15643 47668 6
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Item# 1682-05
James Suckling
94pt
Vinous Media
98pt
Wine Advocate
97pt
Wine Enthusiast
96pt
Wine Spectator
94pt
Tasting notes
Concentrated, rich, ruby-red colour with deep purple highlights. The richness of the vintage is obvious.
Closed, but deep bouquet with hints of china bark, black liquorice, black cherry, and herbs.
Excellent potential.
Starts out very generous, intense, and powerful. Plenty of body, and extremely young. Immense ageing potential and very civilised tannin.
Closed, but deep bouquet with hints of china bark, black liquorice, black cherry, and herbs.
Excellent potential.
Starts out very generous, intense, and powerful. Plenty of body, and extremely young. Immense ageing potential and very civilised tannin.
Vintage
No one in France can remember drought conditions of such magnitude over such a long period
(57% less rainfall than usual), although temperatures were never as high as during the 2003 heat wave.
We carefully removed all the suckers – twice – as well as the side shoots in order to help the vines cope with reduced water consumption. This led to perfectly well-nourished grapes.
After excellent flowering in early June, summer was excessively dry. Just like many other great vintages, this called a halt to premature growth. Drought conditions had two major effects on the fruit:
- Small berries, meaning very low yields
- Gradual concentration of flavour compounds in the grapes, very promising in terms of quality
The grapes slowly reached phenolic maturity after a few showers in early September. Picking began on 22 September in plots of Merlot. The grapes were impressively ripe and healthy. Starting with the first pumping over, the wine had a superb colour and filled the vat room with powerful aromas. The fact that the grapes were so ripe also facilitated alcoholic fermentation. In fact, this was the first time anyone had ever seen sugar levels of this magnitude. Picking of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot took place from 30 September to 7 October under clear, blue skies. Daily tasting throughout fermentation made it possible to achieve just the right degree of extraction and retain all the freshness and balance of this powerful, concentrated vintage.
(57% less rainfall than usual), although temperatures were never as high as during the 2003 heat wave.
We carefully removed all the suckers – twice – as well as the side shoots in order to help the vines cope with reduced water consumption. This led to perfectly well-nourished grapes.
After excellent flowering in early June, summer was excessively dry. Just like many other great vintages, this called a halt to premature growth. Drought conditions had two major effects on the fruit:
- Small berries, meaning very low yields
- Gradual concentration of flavour compounds in the grapes, very promising in terms of quality
The grapes slowly reached phenolic maturity after a few showers in early September. Picking began on 22 September in plots of Merlot. The grapes were impressively ripe and healthy. Starting with the first pumping over, the wine had a superb colour and filled the vat room with powerful aromas. The fact that the grapes were so ripe also facilitated alcoholic fermentation. In fact, this was the first time anyone had ever seen sugar levels of this magnitude. Picking of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot took place from 30 September to 7 October under clear, blue skies. Daily tasting throughout fermentation made it possible to achieve just the right degree of extraction and retain all the freshness and balance of this powerful, concentrated vintage.
Harvest
From 22nd september to 7th october.
