Champagne Palmer : time mastered for divine cuvees

Winegrowers’ Portraits Reims

CHAMPAGNE PALMER

time mastered for divine cuvees

“Slowliness is splendour. What we do with time, time respects”, Rodin, eternal sculptor wrote. This maxim could be Palmer’s. Rémi Vervier, general manager, etched the mastery of time as a core value for the crafting of all Palmer cuvées!

At harvest Palmer reduces lost time. Less than six hours run between the picking of the grapes and the pressing, to preserve all the characteristics and freshness of the fruits that will express during fermentation.
To carry out blending, Palmer slows down the progress of time. Each cuvee is tasted three times during the élevage (in October, November and December) by five enologists composing the Tasting Committee, in order to undertake pre-blendings by cru. The final blendings that will create the different cuvees will be done in March. No concession is accepted about the stretching and length of these tastings that aim at keeping unchanged the DNA of the brand.
After the devatting and ageing on the lees, time remains an ally for Palmer who prolongs the stay in the cellars of all its cuvees up to four years for the Brut Réserve; six years for the Extra Réserve and the vintage Champagne; ten years for the vintage Magnums; twelve years for Amazone, the Prestige Cuvée. “We need this patina of time, Rémi Vervier explains. Palmer is famous for its Grand and First Crus, from the Montagne de Reims, tense, powerful wines that will gain elegance over time”. Matured this way, these Champagnes have an impressive ageing potential and the vintages, finding their way without a wrinkle, continue improving through the years.




Rémi Vervier, directeur et Xavier Berdin vérifient le dépôt d’un millésime.

Palmer’s wine library evidences a surprising policy of conservation of rare and marvellous vintages. Many bottles from 1957 to 2014 quietly rest in lovely cellars at 18 metres underground. To extend the ageing potential, and slow down the wine-lees exchanges, Palmer keeps the Magnums of the 1980-90s head down. These Champagnes thus placed, in big formats, could find a second life …
After disgorgement, the precious bottles benefit from an extra rest before shipping: six months for Brut Réserve, Rosé Réserve, Blanc de Blancs and the old vintages; one year for Extra Réserve and Amazone de Palmer. “The very essence of each cuvee led us to a right management of the time, in order to help each reach its plenitude.”
The command of time is the key component of the crafting of Palmer’s divine cuvees. In the third millenium, time of progress, Palmer set itself in line with the future with the building of a new winery aiming at shortening even more the time of pressing of the freshly picked grapes. Opening scheduled for the harvest 2016!Marie-Caroline Bourrellis

Champagne Palmer

67, rue Jacquart
51100 Reims
Tél.: +33 (0)3 26 07 35 07

www.champagne-palmer.fr