Kitchak Cellars - THE WINE MAKER'S WATCH: Tour de Bordeaux

I would like to start today's blog with a line from the Chateau Palmer Brochure: "Wine tasting is a meeting of two living bodies as they surrender to each other, the human being and the wine. Tasters always have expectations from the wine they choose: good wines meet them; Chateau Palmer exceeds item, in a mingling of sensations and emotions."

Chateau Palmer

Chateau Palmer makes two wines. A wine called Alter Ego and another, their main wine, called Chateau Palmer. They emphasize that the Alter Ego is NOT a second wine, but rather wine made differently from the same grapes. Alter Ego is designed to be drunk earlier. It is fermented at cooler temperatures and although it spends about the same amount of time in the barrel, they use only 25% to 40% new barrels for the wine. As a result it is fruitier and less tannic. Their wines are generally about 50% Cabernet and 50% Merlot which changes a bit with each vintage.

The host for our visit was Bernard de Laage de Meux, the commercial director for Chateau Palmer. We started our tasting with barrel samples of the 2010 vintage. The best that I can tell is that they are quite right when they say it will be a great vintage. The 2010 Alter Ego is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49% Merlot. The 2010 Palmer is 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot.

Bernard de Laage de Meux pours - Patricia and Kent Baum look on with anticipation.

Following the tasting we adjourned to a spectacular lunch, with some amazing dishes. The first course was accompanied by a 2008 Chateau Palmer Blanc, a very different wine made up of 55% Muscadelle, 35% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Merlot Blanc and 5% Loset. An amazing combination.

A spectacular lunch for our group of 12

The second course was a gratine of green asparagus with Parmesan and and egg coulant raviole, served with the 2004 Alter Ego, a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Bernard passes out personalized hard cover books with the menu and a list of the wines served

Elizabeth Berka-White is on his right (L in the photo)

The third course was a wonderful veal dish (Quasi de veau en cuisson longue) and a gratin of apples with crisp Parmesan. Also on the plate was a truly outstanding morel mushroom stuffed with veal. The course was served with two outstanding Chateau Palmer wines. First came the 1994 which was a blend of 50% Cabernet, 47% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Second was a 1985 Palmer that was 57% Cabernet, 33% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.