• France
• Bordeaux
• Medoc
• Margaux

After a mild and dry late winter season, budburst was delayed by a cold spell that set in from mid-March to late April. A very rainy month of May ended with a hail storm that hit the south of the Medoc, including a few Chateau Palmer plots, which added to the stress that the vine was undergoing. Flowering took place in June under particularly unfavorable conditions of cool, rainy weather, which caused widespread coulure. The mildew pressure was constant this year. The weather in July plays an essential role in the synthesis of phenolic compounds and it was a beautiful month, for the most part. Summer started off nicely from the very beginning, with a long period of relatively dry, beautiful weather lasting from June 20 to August 10. The less favorable period that followed and lasted until September 14 made us forget those weeks to a certain extent, all the more so because we had to fight off diseases. The cold, wet conditions in August and early September gave way suddenly and unexpectedly to a very sunny dry spell, as a northern wind set in from September 14 on, drying out the pockets of botrytis. We were able to wait for the late maturities to complement each other, with no major sanitary concerns. The nights were cool. This lent itself to a gentle, harmonious maturation, which brings out in turn a very elegant aromatic expressiveness. A miracle as only nature knows how to produce them! The Merlots displayed unexpectedly high levels of concentration, with degrees between 13.5° and 14.5°. The sugar content of the Cabernets sauvignon grapes hovered as usual around 12° and 12.5°. But there again we found a nice concentration of phenolic compounds and perfectly ripe tannins. They are velvety and display beautiful volume on the palate.