winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
in the
Margaux
Margaux (; oc-gsc, Margaus) is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.appellation d'origine contrôlée
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...
of the
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
region of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus'' (Third Growths) in the historic
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...
. The property is situated in the communes
Margaux
Margaux (; oc-gsc, Margaus) is a former commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Margaux-Cantenac.Cantenac, and its wine is considered to be one of the two most popular Third Growths.
Since 1998, the Château has been producing also a second label, not a
second wine
Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...
, ''Alter Ego de Palmer,'' selected from the same quality terroirs, but employing different wine-making techniques and different proportions of grapes, in order to produce an earlier-drinking wine. Some 40% of the estate's production, is now sold as Alter Ego de Palmer. The result has been a significant reduction in the quantity of wine sold as Château Palmer (from nearly 20,000 cases before the introduction of Alter Ego de Palmer to 11,000-12,000 cases currently). The previous
second wine
Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...
Once a part of the ancient estate, Château d'Issan, divided by the heirs of the Foix-Candale family in 1748, 50 hectares of vineyards came to the Gascq family. Though without association to any noble
château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
No ...
, the wine produced became Château de Gascq, quickly established in the market and served at the court of
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
under
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
.
By 1814, the widow of the final Gascq heir, Madame Marie Bumet de Ferrière, sold the property for fr 100,000 to an Englishman, Major General Charles Palmer. Having retired from military life, Palmer invested in the property over the following years, acquiring additional land and facilities. By 1831, the domain extended 163 hectares with 82 hectares under
vine
A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...
, buildings in Issan, Cantenac and Margaux, and had a reputation on a par with
Château Margaux
Château Margaux (), archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine, and was one of four wines to achieve ''Premier cru'' (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expens ...
and
Château Beychevelle
Château Beychevelle is a winery in the Saint-Julien appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten ''Quatrièmes Crus'' (Fourth Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classificati ...
. In the early 1840s, Palmer had economic difficulties which would later affect the estate's position in the 1855 Classification, and was forced to sell the property to madame Françoise-Marie Bergerac in 1843 for fr 410,000, at a substantial loss.
From 1844, during the arrival of oidium to Bordeaux, Château Palmer was managed by an agricultural mortgage corporation, ''Caisse Hypothécaire de Paris'', until it was sold on 1853 to the
Péreire brothers
Émile Pereire (3 December 1800, Bordeaux - 5 January 1875, Paris) and his brother Isaac Pereire (25 November 1806, Bordeaux – 12 July 1880, Gretz-Armainvilliers) were major figures in the development of France's finance and infrastructure durin ...
, Isaac and Emile Péreire, bankers and rivals of the
Rothschilds
The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...
. The Péreires widely improved the estate but faced a difficult period of oidium, and by 1858 the entire vineyard had to be replanted. The architect Burguet was commissioned to build the present château constructed on 1857-1860, and by 1870 the estate extended 177 hectares, with 109 hectares under vine. The ''Société Civile Péreire'' was formed in 1889, remaining proprietors until the poor economy following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and the Great Depression. Having sold off land during the preceding years, the final sale of the remaining estate took place in 1938.
A syndicate of the Sichel, Ginestet, Mialhe and Mähler-Besse families, forming the ''Société Civile de Château Palmer'' took control, the Sichel and Mähler-Besse families remaining major shareholders to date. Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Château Palmer's owners bought
Château Desmirail
Château Desmirail is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France. It was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus'' (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.Karen MacNeil, ...
, another Third Classified Growth, and uniquely in 1963 Palmer wines were sold under the Desmirail name.
Since 2004, Palmer has been managed by Thomas Duroux, formerly a winemaker of
Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia
Ornellaia is an Italian wine producer in the DOC Bolgheri in Toscana, known as a producer of Super Tuscan wine. Ornellaia is considered one of Italy's leading Bordeaux-style red wines. The estate also produces a second wine, Le Serre Nuove, the bl ...
.
Production
The vineyard area extends 55 hectares, planted 47% with
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...
, 47%
Merlot
Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to t ...
and 6%
Petit Verdot
Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...
.
The annual production of the ''Grand vin'' Château Palmer is 11,000-12,000 cases; of Alter Ego de Palmer, 7,000-8,000 cases.
Criticism & Controversy
In October 2020, Spanish seasonal workers denounced abuse in the workplace and lack of accommodation during harvest season.