Palate
The 1990 vintage has the same structure as that of all particularly hot years: low acidity, high sugar levels and a perfect concentration of ripe fruits and soft tannins.
Growing Conditions
A promising time. In 1990, everything pointed to the year’s Château Palmer being spectacular. After all, two great wines had preceded it, and the summer was particularly hot, even tropical in August. And it came true: not since 1982, and before that 1949 and 1947, had there been three celebrated vintages in a row.
1990 is a solar vintage, synonymous with joy. It is a great wine that succeeds the vintages of 1988 and 1989, both equally prestigious. Climatically speaking they all possess amazing similarities. February saw record temperatures for the month and, consequently, the vines started to grow on March 9th. This precocity increased the risk of frost. Luckily, the summery weather continued on throughout March and April and banished our fears. Flowering came very early, around fifteen days earlier than normal. As from June 3rd, the weather became overcast and rainy until the end of the month. July was beautiful and warm. August was seriously tropical. One has to look back to the most famous vintages in order to find an equivalent year. The first grain alterations occurred on July 15th. In August, the ripening process continued on slowly but surely and maturation was slowed down by excessive drought. Fortuitous rain flooded the vineyard on the 30th.
Harvest
The harvest took place under ideal conditions. The Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon were of superb quality.
