Palate
The wines obtained from the three grape varieties are fruity with tannic structure and portray Château Palmer’s elegant style.
Growing Conditions
Classic. Both literally and figuratively, little or nothing could cloud this vintage. Because apart from a little rain in September, the grapes were treated to warm and dry weather, ideal for attaining optimal ripeness.
1998 is a great Merlot vintage. The wine is very fresh and aromatic with a nice complexity. The first months of the year were similar to those of 1997, that is to say hot and sunny. March was warm. The vines started to grow on 22nd. In contrast, April was one of the rainiest months since the beginning of the century. This somewhat slowed the vegetation down. The first flowers only appeared at the end of May. Flowering was fairly fast and homogeneous. July was moderately hot and dry. The véraison also went off without a hitch. August was exceptional, one of the hottest and driest in history, thus giving the harvest remarkable potential. Due to low rainfall in July and the particularly hot and dry conditions of August, the vines completed their growth very early on. Never-ending rain in September only slightly diluted the sugar levels, without affecting the
phenolic compounds and the quality of the grapes. Speedy extractions made vinification easy.
