Palmer Champagne: What You Should Know & 4 Reviews

The Founding of Palmer & Co.

Winemaking cooperatives were not new to Champagne when seven grower-producers banded together to make the first Palmer Champagne in 1947. Champagne cooperatives begin forming in the 1920s, perhaps even earlier, pooling resources and dividing the cost of facilities and equipment for greater profitability. Still-wine producers around the globe had been taking that approach for decades, making cooperatives dominant players in the market by virtue of high volumes and low costs.

Yet, Palmer Champagne was unique. The purpose wasn’t low cost, but high quality. The seven Palmer members, coming from five different villages in Champagne, each held Premier Cru and/or Grands Cru vineyards. They reasoned that, since blending in Champagne can allow for higher quality wines and greater consistency year-to-year, teaming up would lead to one cuvée which was better than what any of them could produce singly.

Each of the Palmer grower-producers maintained their own press and winemaking facilities, further evidence that the goal was quality improvement, not cost reduction. The individual wines were collected and taken to Avize, the village in which Palmer was headquartered, for blending and aging. Not until 1959, when Palmer moved to Reims and constructed a new facility, was winemaking consolidated, though there are still four separate pressing facilities for maximum freshness.

Chardonnay from the North

According to Remi Vervier, Palmer winemaker and general manager, with whom I met and tasted recently in San Francisco, “the art of Palmer is Montagne de Reims,” particularly two villages in the east. Montagne de Reims is primarily known for Pinot Noir. But those two villages grow only Chardonnay. And it’s that Chardonnay which defines most of the Palmer wines.

Palmer believes this northern Chardonnay zone, its vineyards facing southeast, gives their Chardonnay more power, mineral, and citrus than is found from wines coming only from the more southern regions where Chardonnay dominates. (Palmer keeps dosages moderate, in the 7-8 g/l range, to subtly balance acidity without masking this character.)

Today, Palmer holds roughly 40 plantings, comprising just over 1,000 acres. About half the acreage is either Premier Cru or Grands Cru. In 1970, Palmer began acquiring vineyards outside Montagne de Reims. So the totals above include vineyards in Cote de Blanc, Valle de Marne and the northern portion of Cote de Sezanne.

Extended Aging

Because of the structure of their Chardonnay, Palmer tends to hold their wines longer before release than many producers. Extra time rounds out the acidity while micro-oxidation, introduced by the cork, builds complexity. The same group of Palmer winemakers has been meeting for the past 25-30 years, making decisions on blending and on when bottled wines are ready for market. While Palmer Champagne can continue to age and possibly improve after release, the wines are in what these winemakers believe to be the beginning of their ideal drinking window at shipment.

Palmer does their secondary fermentation in the final bottles, even for large formats. This is unique in Champagne. Most producers do secondary only in 750ml and magnum, then transfer wine into larger formats as needed.

When doing extended aging, Palmer stores bottles neck down. This slows development. Palmer see this as an oenological choice which enables them to ship very old, library releases each year that remain in ideal drinking condition. The number of these bottles released each year is carefully calculated to parcel them out over the entire drinkable life.

For service, Palmer prefers standard white wine glasses to flutes. The larger glasses reveal the wine’s full, aromatic complexity. For their long-aged, vintage collection, Palmer recommends even larger glasses, such as a Pinot goblet.

Note: Champagne house Palmer & Co. is not affiliated in any way with Chateau Palmer of Bordeaux. The companies see their businesses as very different with no overlap. The two have a legal agreement giving each the right to pursue their business and use their respective trademarks without issue.

Palmer Champagne Brut Reserve NV 92 750ml $55

Pale lemon in the glass with scant, but tiny, bubbles. The nose offers toasted brioche, dried lemon, mineral and whole wheat bread. I transitioned mid-tasting from a flute to a larger glass and found the latter emphasized the minerality.

The palate is fruit-forward and generous in intensity and weight, yet still nuanced and elegant. Flavors include green apple candy, lemon, orange pith, lime and mineral. Acidity is high and the finish very long and juicy.

This wine ages for a minimum of four years, six if in magnum. Distribution is limited to fine-dining restaurants and just a few stores.

Palmer Champagne Blanc de Blancs NV 93+ 750ml $90

This wine, which XX calls “the star of the range,” doesn’t get a vintage designation except when held back for the vintage collection, but it never includes any reserve wine whatsoever. 750ml bottles spend four years aging with lees. Wine in magnums, which Palmer cheekily call “standard bottles,” spend seven to eight years sur lie. 85% of the fruit comes from 1er Cru vineyards in Villers-Marmery and Trépail in Montagne de Reims, with the balance from Cote de Sézanne.

A plethora of tiny, fast-moving bubbles rise in the light, lemon-colored wine, along with aromas of underripe pear, mineral and toast. The flavorful, medium-bodied palate offers lemon-lime, toasted pear, green apple and mineral buoyed by mouthwatering acidity. The finish is very long.

Palmer Champagne Rosé Reserve NV 92+ 750ml $75

Palmer maintains of a solera of red wine made from ripe, Les Riceys Pinot Noir. Each vintage, the new wine softens for about eight months before going into the solera. Today, a fraction of that wine is 40+ years old.

Eight percent of the Rosé Reserve blend is from the solera. The rest is Chardonnay. The red wine contributes color, plus red and black fruit, but also vanilla and spice from the time in wood. The dosage for this wine is 0.5 to 1.0 % higher than on the other wines to add succulence to the fruit flavors.

Color is light salmon in the glass. The nose engages with aromas of spice, raspberry, blackberry, lemon, and a hint of toast. The palate has a roundish attack with body on the generous side of medium, its creamy fruit balanced by acidity. Red fruit predominates, mostly strawberry and cherry. Blackberry, lemon, green apple and toast very present too. The finish is long.

Palmer Champagne Vintage 2009 94+ 750ml $105

Palmer vintage wines are always an even split of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, all from 1er Cru and Grands Cru vineyards in Montagne de Reims. The 2009 has light, lemon color with fine, fast-moving bubbles and generous aromas of toast, dark mineral, underripe strawberry, lemon, green apple, and apple jelly candy. The medium-bodied palate is juicy with flavors of lemon, mineral, green apple skin, raspberry and toast. Very long finish.

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