Chateau Palmer 2016

Stunning. Despite a mild winter, a rainy spring, a moderately warm summer, and thus a late harvest, the quality of the grapes proved nothing less than extraordinary. Sublimating such ripe, powerful tannins is a cellar team’s raison d’être. The end result? An exquisite equilibrium, between structure and silk.

The spring of 2016 put us to the test. However, today, it is the exceptional quality of our two 2016 wines that go down in the property’s history. The winter was very mild and the vines were a week ahead of schedule. Their development was restrained as the weather was mild and wet, thus leading to the development of late mildew. 130mm of rain fell in just 1 month! Never, since the property had become biodynamical, had we had felt such pressure. However, thanks to the winemakers’ hard work and total dedication, we managed to stand up to the challenge. Luckily, the blossoming took place in optimal conditions over the week of June 6th. Summer finally came with moderate temperatures and no rain leading us to fear possible setback on the most sensitive soils. Fortunately, the rain came bringing joy to the whole team. The harvesting, which only began on October 3rd, was one of the most delayed in the property’s history. Although modest in quantity, the aromatic intensity of the grapes was extraordinary. The tannins were powerful and perfectly ripe, which led us to opt for sustained extraction. At the end of the first months of aging, the equilibrium of our two wines differed significantly from that of our previous great vintages: a classical degree of alcohol left pride of place to an exceptionally tannic structure. The velvety texture of our Château Palmer wines is more than ever our hallmark.