'EDUCATING THE BEAST' - TASTING CHATEAU PALMER'S 2018

In January James spoke with the Chateau Palmer CEO Thomas Duroux about the 2018 vintage, and its metamorphosis from a highly concentrated wine when James first tasted the en primeur sample, into a fantastic wine. The 2018 was a challenge for Duroux as they could only retain 11% of the total crop due to mildew pressure. However the transformation in the wine was due to the two stages of elevage that Duroux and his team implemented: 10 months in barrel to strengthen the wine, followed by 10 more months 'en foudre' (a large wooden vat significantly bigger than typical oak barrels). "You're right, the wine was quite strange when we presented en primeur - it was like a beast that had to be educated," said Duroux. "Elevage was crucial to manage the power of this wine."Listen to their conversation for more details on how Duroux tamed and refined his 2018 wine, and read the tasting note below.Château Palmer Margaux 2018Read James' full report on the 2018 Bordeaux vintage here. 

Om Podcasten

This is the podcast of James Suckling, international wine critic with 40 years of experience tasting, critiquing and loving wine! We focus on the great wines of the world including Italy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Australia, New Zealand, California, Chile, and Argentina, but are always open to and looking for surprises. We taste and review thousands of wines each year - 25,000 in 2019 alone! - and meet hundreds of the world's best winemakers along that journey. That's where this podcast comes in - a place to access my conversations with these titans of the wine world, and also my own tasting team as we travel the world to taste amazing wines. I hope you enjoy these podcasts - head to jamessuckling.com for even more reports, videos and articles about how to enjoy wine.