Chateau Palmer 2009

Special Price $443.95 Average US Price $496.00
Pre-Arrival   Usually arrives from France in 1-6 months
Only 17 left
SKU
4277-2009
Pre-Arrival Pre-Arrival - See Footnote
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• Domaine: Château Palmer
• Appellation: Margaux
• Classification: Third Growth, 3ème Grand Cru Classé
• Origin: Margaux, Left Bank, Bordeaux, France
• Importer: Laguna Cellar

If a reclassification were ever in the cards, Château Palmer would be up for a promotion without a doubt.  This Third Growth Margaux estate transcends its ranking from 1855 and is now considered by many wine critics to belong in the higher ranks.  These sensationally fragrant,  richly complex wines are some of the finest examples of Bordeaux.  Their second label, Alter Ego, has a cult-like following and if a new classification were ever to take place, would be easily considered a Fourth Growth wine or higher.  Alter Ego is a worthy purchase for any wine buyer - and it never stays on the shelves too long.  With knockout vintages each year, Château Palmer is a star producer with a massively loyal fanbase.

The history of Château Palmer dates far before it received its namesake.  The vineyards were initially holdings of Château d’Issan before they were purchased by the fiery Madame de Gascq.  Madame de Gascq saw the estate’s potential well before anybody else did and told Englishman Charles Palmer the wines of the estate were easily as good as some of the First Growth properties in the Médoc.  Charles agreed with her, purchased the estate, and per the tradition of the time named it after himself.  Charles Palmer tripled the property’s holdings to 80-hectares, and in 1843 sold it to the Periere family.  The Periere family invested a lot of money into improving and modernizing the Château, only to sell it to a group of four powerful négociant families.  Of these four families, the Mähler-Besse family and the Sichel family are still some of the major shareholders running the estate today.

In 1998, Château Palmer debuted their legendary second label, Alter Ego.  Buyers take note – Alter Ego is not a Second Wine.  It’s an entirely separate label with different plots used for production.  Château Palmer is unique for a Left Bank estate because their vineyards – and wines including Alter Ego -- have a heavy preponderance of Merlot.  These vines are planted within the mixture of gravelly/clay soils.  Many other properties in Margaux plant their Merlot vines simply in clay, but what makes Château Palmer unique is their decision to plant these vines in their more graveled areas.

Today Château Palmer is overseen by the young and energetic Thomas Duroux. Duroux brings with him an impressive background; he formerly was in charge of the Super Tuscan legend Ornellaia prior to his working at Château Palmer.  Before that, he apprenticed at Château Léoville Las Cases and has worked at renowned wineries such as Mondavi and Tokay.  Thomas Duroux was responsible for transitioning the vineyards to 100% biodynamic viticulture. Sheep graze in the 60-hectare vineyards and a herd of cows provide manure for fertilizer.  Special nettle and horsetail teas are sprayed on the vines to assist in fertilizing and protecting them.  Château Palmer has also invested in soundwave machines that emit tones and vibrations to help develop protein cells in the vines.  Château Palmer has been Certified Biodynamic since 2017, with their 2014 label being their first 100% biodynamic vintage.

The viticultural team at Château Palmer has a culture of respect regarding the land, their wines, and their team.  That holistic mentality and consistent pursuit of excellence manifests itself in their profound wines – year after year. 

Tasting Notes

"One of the all-time great Palmers (along with the 1961, 1966, 1970, 1989, 2000 and 2005), the 2009 Palmer is a blend of 52% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and a whopping 7% Petit Verdot that came in at close to 14% natural alcohol. An opaque blue/black color suggests a wine with thrilling levels of concentration and intensity, and That's exactly what a taster gets. Subtle smoke, incense and Asian spice (soy?) notes interwoven with graphite, blueberry, blackberry and cassis characteristics lead to a full-bodied, phenomenally concentrated, viscous, opulent wine with plenty of sweet tannin. This sensational Palmer reveals even more floral notes than vintages such as 2005 and 2000. It should drink well for 50 years." - Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate (12/22/2011, Issue 199), Ratings: 97

 

This is an ex-Château release in 2019.


More Information
Stock Status Pre-Arrival
Appellation Margaux
Vintage 2009
Brand Chateau Palmer
Shipping Weight 3.000000

Notes on sale of Futures, Pre-Arrivals, and potential US Tariffs: 

1.  As of June 15, 2021, the US and the EU reached an agreement to suspend tariffs resulting from the Boeing-Airbus aircraft trade disputes.  Such tariffs are now suspended for the next 5 years.

2.  Futures are expected to be available for delivery 2 years following the sales (e.g. the 2019 vintage, sold in 2020, will be delivered in 2022 or 2023).

3.  Pre-Arrivals are items currently stored in our Bordeaux cellar, or in transit from France to the US.  It usually takes 1-6 months for Pre-Arrivals to become available for delivery, depending on the stage of the import process.

4.  As far as futures and pre-arrivals are concerned, we cannot guarantee specific delivery dates which may be impacted by factors beyond our control.  We will notify you once your wines have arrived in our cellar.

5.  While a buyer of Bordeaux wine futures locks in an allocation of the specified items, final delivery of the purchased items from France to the US may be impacted by intervening and unforeseeable events.  Despite our exercise of due diligence, additional costs or delays may be caused by such intervening and unforeseeable events and/or "an irresistible, superhuman cause, or by the act of public enemies of the state of California or of the United States".  In such events, if a buyer does not accept unforeseeable costs or delays, the sole and exclusive remedy is a cancellation of the futures order concerned and a refund of the original purchase price.  We are NOT liable for any lost profits on a cancelled order.

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