Château Palmer Historical XIXth Century Wine L.20.16

Certified Demeter biodynamic since 2018, Château Palmer remains one of Bordeaux’s most visionary estates, moving toward a true polyculture model where gardens, forests, animals, and vines coexist across its 100-hectare property. Most wine lovers know Palmer for its Grand Vin and its “baby” Alter Ego, but there is also a rare white—and this elusive XIX. You’ll notice there’s no mention of Palmer on the midnight-blue label. Inspired by the nineteenth-century practice of adding Hermitage (Syrah from the Rhône) to deepen the color and structure of Bordeaux clarets, CEO and winemaker Thomas Duroux set out to recreate this historical recipe after tasting a bottle of 1869 Palmer and wondering whether it had been “Hermitaged?”Each winter, Duroux and technical director Sabrina Pernet travel to the Rhône to identify the Syrah that will join Palmer’s Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, making up roughly 10% of the final blend. To this day, they are only a handful of people who know the source of that secret Syrah. Refined since 2005, L.20.16 is the seventh edition of this cuvée, now a cult signature of the estate, carrying the deceptively simple label “Vin de France.” There is no vintage on the bottle, only a hinting lot number. With less than 5,000 bottles produced, it is, as Duroux puts it, like “biting into a cloud.” ~Allegra Angelo