Château Palmer
The well-known history of the estate goes back to the 18th century when the family of Gasq, a very old family of Bordeaux parliamentarians, ensures the renown of its wines. The year 1814 marks a decisive turn when Marie de Gasq decides, on the death of her husband, to separate from the property and sells it to the English general Charles Palmer whom she meets by chance during a journey in diligence.
The general sees great and practically triple the size of the vineyard. In 1843, severe financial difficulties forced him to separate from the estate now known under his name since the 1830s. The influential bankers Isaac and Emile Peireire bought Palmer in 1853, shortly before his classification as 3rd vintage in 1855. They Give it a decisive boost by entrusting it to expert hands while allowing a new growth of the vineyard. They are the ones who are building the emblematic castle we know today.
Wars, diseases of the vine and economic crisis led the heirs to yield in their turn the property acquired in 1938 by a group of 4 great international families of Bordeaux merchants, the Ginestet, Mihailhe, Mähler-Besse and Sichel. Today, the last two families are the owners, the management being entrusted since 2004 to Thomas Duroux, agronomist and oenologist engineer.
The 55-hectare vineyard extends, a few kilometers south-east of Margaux, on a deep Garonne plateau. The grape varieties are Merlot (47%), Cabernet Sauvignon (47%) and Petit Verdot (6%). The average age of the vines is 38 years and the planting density of 10,000 feet / ha. Particular attention is paid to the care of the vines: after the important contributions of oenology, Thomas Duroux now wishes to make Palmer fully benefit from the progress of the most modern agronomy.
The estate produces 2 wines in AOC Margaux: Château Palmer and, since 1998, a "great" second wine, Alter Ego.
