Château Palmer is one of the two most sought after Margaux by collectors from across the world. It even outranked its neighbour château Margaux during several decades. Thomas Duroux, in charge of the vines and winemaking at Palmer, recently told BLOUIN ARTINFO about his never-ending ambition: Always go deeper into a style of wine shaped during the estate’s very long history. He also draws interesting links with painting, music, and good food!
What is the most creative part of your work?
This is about putting into question our knowledge and interpretation of the vineyard. Each year, at the beginning of September, when harvest time is coming back, I open a blank page, even if I’m still conscious of the place and of its history. There is a certain style of wine here, shaped through the centuries, it ought to be respected, but I must always go further in its expression. As a painter who would spend his life painting the portrait of a pretty girl, maybe always the same girl, a hundred or maybe two hundred times. He would keep the same spirit, but he would try to better his work in small details, through little brush strokes.
What are these small details in your case?
I am in charge of 135 acres of vineyard, divided into many parcels, each of them having its own personality, to which I must adapt my work. The same with winemaking: I don’t vinify the grapes in my 50 vats the same way, each vat contains a different wine, which must be handled according to its own personality. It implies going very far into details, into the intimacy of each parcel, of each vat, of each wine, but it allows us to progress further.
Could you describe the style of Palmer wines?
It is original for Medoc because there is a high proportion of merlot. One of my predecessors had a passion for this grape and he decided to plant it in a more than reasonable way, but this was a bright idea, because he planted it where you usually plant the cabernet sauvignon. The merlots on these great Medoc terroirs give a strong identity to Palmer wines. They are Margaux wines, with this subtlety, this elegance, this precision, but they are above all Palmer wines, often described as velvety, which comes from these very old merlots on great soils.
What are the differences in style between Palmer and the other wine of the estate, Alter Ego?
We have a vine landscape in front of us. If I was a painter I could make a classical, 18th century painting out of it, and this would be Palmer. Alter Ego would be an expressionist painting. These are two different ways of interpreting the terroir. Thanks to a selection of parcels, and a winemaking seeking fruity aromas and subtle tannins, Alter Ego is designed to be drunk before five to 10 years. Palmer is a wine much more anchored in its soil.
Which of your wines would you say are your masterpieces?
The vintage 2010 is probably the greatest wine produced at this estate. This is a monument, with great potential and extraordinary qualities and traits that have not been understood until now. We do know that this is a great wine, something extraordinary, but this is not something easy to approach for now, it will take time for this complexity to show off. We know it, we feel it, but the wine will have to prove it.
What do you think about the recent vintages of Palmer?
The vintage 2012 has everything required for a very good and long ageing, but I have also the feeling that this will be absolutely delicious at a young age. There is already this smoothness, this charm; I think this will be just fine. The vintages 2011 and 2010 are different, 2010 is a great one, but it will have a closed phase, and it will need time to reopen itself. The vintage 2009 is kind of on the same model than 2012, it is a bit greater, but is has the same charm.
Each year, you do invite jazz musicians to create a tune after having tasted the new vintage. Bordeaux wines are often paired with classical music, why did you choose jazz music?
This does make much sense to me: jazz music is deeply anchored in the history of African, American, and European music. If you listen to Debussy’s “La fille aux cheveux de lin,” you think it’s Keith Jarrett playing! And each time you play jazz music, you have to put yourself into question, you can play the same chorus 25 evenings in the row, each time you will play it in a different way because you have to interpret it. We do a new vintage exactly the same way, we have to know our scales, know the chorus, the identity, the history, but we have to interpret. The link seems obvious to me!
Do you remember a very creative dish paired to one of your wines?
Last winter, painter Robert Combas was our guest, and our home chef, Olivier Rosa, a very enjoyable and creative person, cooked a dish of scallops with Provence black truffle. With a 2006 Alter Ego, this was a magical pairing, a fabulous one. I also remember a 1966 Palmer, an extraordinary subtle wine, served together with low-temperature cook veal seasoned with Sichuan pepper. That moment was out of the realms of time...
Which chefs do you admire for their work?
Michel Bras in Laguiole, for me this is the absolute and at the same time simple, extraordinarily refined, anchored in his terroir, with the herbs, the vegetables…This was a real shock for me, also because of the pairings with wine. With a vegetable only menu, we had a Palmer and a 1995 Henry Jayer; it was a moment of bliss. But I also fancy the restaurant Le Lion d'Or in Arcins near Palmer; this is not haute cuisine, but honest cooking. Jean-Paul Barbier cooks same kind of dishes all the time, but his lièvre à la royale (hare stew) is cooked according to the rules of art! His lamprey dish maybe is not the most refined, but this is a real lamprey of our terroir, cooked as it ought to be. Each time I come back from a long journey, I indulge myself to eat there!
Who are the winemakers you admire for their creativity?
Laurent Vaillé at domaine de la Grange des Pères in the Languedoc region near Aniane. He created his vineyard like a real “Compagnon du Devoir” craftsman would have done it, spending six years working with Chave, Coche Dury, at Trévallon and Beaucastel, then coming home and creating his masterpiece. He is a genius of a winemaker. On the other end, I came to know the wines of Antoniolo estate in Piedmont, a small DOCG called Gattinara, planted with the nebbiolo grape. These wines don’t cheat, I never met the winemaker, but by tasting the wines, you can tell that he is a very humble man, who carefully listens to his vines.
To listen to jazz tunes created by musician guests at Palmer, click on www.hear-palmer.com.
