Chateau Palmer - Philippe Delfaut 

Harvest Chronicles at Château Palmer - Margaux

October 8, 2002 at Chateau Palmer
Fortunately we finished the harvest yesterday afternoon at Chateau Palmer and we can be thankful that nature helped is, if only near the end, with the excellent maturity of the grapes. Not a single drop of rain fell since we began picking on September 26th! We could never have imagined in August at Chateau Palmer the natural richness of sugars and phenolic components.

At Chateau Palmer fermentation has been very rapid in spite of the high level of alcohol and the pumping over is being done in moderation, since the extraction of tanins and color has been so easy. We have the impression at Chateau Palmer of a vintage of very high quality. We only have to look at the almost black color of the juice as it is pumped over. 

At Chateau Palmer the very low yield is now confirmed without doubt. It will be no better than 25 hl/ha as against 44 hl/ha last year. As one of our Club Palmer guests said, "Too bad, because only a few amateurs will taste it."

Philippe Delfaut - Chateau Palmer

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