2011 Bordeaux is a sorting vintage! It is also a winemaker vintage. If we want to keep fruit and elegance, the difficult part is not to extract too much.
“Our goal is always to produce a delicate and refined wine at Chateau Palmer, instead of a big monster Bordeaux wine”.
2011 Bordeaux really isn’t as early as some people are claiming. In May and June the grapes were maturing ahead of schedule. But July and August were cold and slowed the vines’ development.
“My grand-father has always told me that an early vintage is a good vintage. An early vintage allows me to wait for the perfect ripeness as the weather is usually more stable in September”.
With our clay and limestone soils, the vineyards were in good shape. At the end of the harvest, if we controlled the yield and do a good job in the cellar, the results will allow us to make a good wine”.
With notes of honeysuckle, stone, lemon, apple, flowers and smoke, this concentrated, buttery California Chardonnay is rich, intense, focused and balanced, ending in a long, citrus oil and minerality finish.
