Willie's World - The Elegant and Exquisite Champagne Palmer & Co.
Champagne Palmer & Co, founded in Reims in 1947, is one of Champagne’s premier producers. With 500 acres of Premier and Grand Crus vineyards in the Montagne de Reims area, they are firmly established as a premier Champagne producer.
I recently met with Champagne Palmer’s Export Director Raymond Ringeval to learn more about Champagne Palmer & Co. We tasted four Champagnes: the Brut Reserve, the Blanc de Blancs, the 2015 Grand Terroirs, and the Rosé Solera. From the onset, the Rosé Solera sparked my curiosity. I had never heard the term Solera used in reference to Champagne. Here are my impressions:
- Champagne Palmer Brut Reserve: Well-balanced, stylish, elegant, and fresh, I enjoyed the palate textures, and is pleasing, but too biting acidity. I knew that the dosage was in the middle of the brut range, and it was. Raymond Ringeval commented on the Champagne’s elegance as one of its best features. The Champagne carries excellent weight on the palate as it finishes with beautiful crispness.
- Champagne Palmer Blanc de Blancs: I always look for elegance in Champagne Blanc de Blancs, and I found it here. The Champagne’s presence was formidable and more demonstrative than I would have expected. Primarily sourced from the Premier Crus in the Montagne de Reims area, blended with Chardonnays of the Côte de Sézanne, and spending 5 years aging on the lees, this is a delicate yet complex Champagne that lasts long on the palate.
- Champagne Palmer Grand Terroirs 2015: Impressive from the start, this highly impressionable effort stayed long on my palate. Spice, fresh-baked biscuits accented by its minerality make it an outstanding wine. This wine shines from its outstanding Chardonnay heritage. The vineyards are located on the eastern slopes, well-sheltered from the western winds resulting in grapes that yield extraordinary depth and strength.
- Champagne Palmer Rosé Solera: A most unusual story, this cuvée is enriched with 30-year-old solera of red wines vinified in oak barrels, resulting in a Champagne of exquisite and compelling complexity. Wild strawberries, dried spices, earthy notes, and a suggestion of chalkiness in the finish; demonstrative and perfect with roast game birds.
As Raymond Ringeval and I conversed on the merits of Champagne Palmer & Co, I found myself in complete agreement that this house is a top-tier Champagne producer that makes wines with care.
From the vineyard to the bottle, they bring Champagne in its purest form to the world. Give them a try. Pair them with tried-and-true matches as well as with experimental combinations. Let your imagination run wild as you experience Champagne Palmer & Co.
—Wilfred Wong
