2006 Palmer

The yield here was a low 34 hectoliters per hectare in 2007, according to manager Thomas Duroux, because the team cut off the less-ripe clusters. Even then, said Duroux, there were big differences in ripeness from block to block and thus the harvest took place over a full four weeks, the longest ever at this estate. Duroux describes 2007 as "not a powerful vintage. We have good but not powerful tannins, and average acidity. We were very careful not to make a wine too high in alcohol." In fact, the alcohol level is a modest 12.5%, following a bit of vacuum evaporation for a few tanks.

This was a fascinating visit in April, as I came here from Chateau Margaux, where most of the merlot was left out of the grand vin and the final blend was a full 90% cabernet sauvignon. At Palmer, the 2006 features 44% merlot and I had the impression that the merlot here was about as good as this variety got in the Medoc in 2006. (This should not come as a surprise, because Chateau Margaux's finest terroirs are planted to cabernet, while Palmer's best-drained, gravelly soils, more often reserved for cabernet elsewhere in the Medoc, are reserved for its merlot.) In fact, manager Thomas Duroux described the merlot in 2006 as "a great surprise" and said that he underrated it at the outset. Some rain at the end of August expanded the berries and the skins became fragile during the heat of early September, he told me. Ultimately the merlot was picked earlier than was originally expected (beginning on September 19), and the extraction was lighter than normal, and at a cooler fermentation temperature. "Early on I was convinced that this would be a classic cabernet vintage, with a high percentage of sauvignon," said Duroux. But although the merlot was less dense than it had been in 2005, Duroux felt that this variety added flesh to the cabernet sauvignon without compromising the purity of the wine. On the other hand, Duroux declassified the petit verdot into the estate's second wine, Alter Ego, as he felt it was aromatic but not sufficiently structured.