“2011 will be a more classical styled Bordeaux vintage. The main advantage of this 2011 vintage is its precocity”.
We used a new density-sorting machine, the Triabe system which sorts fruit based on the levels of sugar concentration. It runs the grapes through a bath using specific gravity or density, it separates ripe berries from the less ripe ones while washing the berries as they go through the bath and removes impurities, petioles, rotten skins, etc.
When you want to have fun with your friends in a blind tasting, open one bottle or a magnum and serve the same wine in 3 or 4 glasses in the same flight. Not one person will get it. It’s a fun trick. Trust me, I know. It’s been played on me multiple times!
2011 Bordeaux is a sorting vintage! It is also a winemaker vintage. If we want to keep fruit and elegance, the difficult part is not to extract too much.
“Our goal is always to produce a delicate and refined wine at Chateau Palmer, instead of a big monster Bordeaux wine”.
2011 Bordeaux really isn’t as early as some people are claiming. In May and June the grapes were maturing ahead of schedule. But July and August were cold and slowed the vines’ development.