Champagne Palmer & Co. Amazone de Palmer Brut NV

Champagne Palmer & Co. was founded in 1947, in the great rebuild of Reims that followed the devastation of World War II. It was a rare partnership between seven different grower families – with access to exceptional Grand Cru and Premier Cru sites across the Montagne de Reims – that became the birth of this new house. While each of the growers provided exceptional fruit – the folks at Palmer say that what sets them apart from others is their quintessential ingredient: time. Great fruit, carefully raised, with precision winemaking and careful blending – important facets all to making Palmer’s signature style of Champagne. But time is the great enhancer of their final product, and never rushed across this grand portfolio.

All wines produced in Champagne Palmer’s cool, chalk cellars in the heart of Reims will see at least three years of aging on the lees in bottle, and most far longer. This Amazone cuvée – the house’s best tête de cuvée – ages on the lees for over eight years, with up to four years aging of the still wine prior to that. This 95-point stunner blends juice from the 2009, 2010, and 2012 harvests, plus a significant dose of the house’s famous solera reserve that goes back decades. The fruit make-up is 51% Chardonnay, and then 49% Pinot Noir, with 18% of the Chardonnay coming from that perpetual solera reserve. The bottling’s final adjustment comes in the form of a Brut-level dosage of 6 grams per liter… et voilà – a masterpiece is born!

This is a rich, nutty, opulent Champagne loaded with Krug-esque secondary characteristics, and an unbelievably broad, weighty, and penetrating style. Layers upon layers of robust character that range from grilled pineapple, toasted hazelnuts, and buttery brioche, to spice-driven accents of nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon. There is a delightful core of stone and orchard fruits throughout – with yellow plums, and gala apples leading the way. This is a wine that evolves long after the bubbles have dissipated – so take our advice and pour this into a wide-mouthed Burgundy glass for optimal enjoyment. Less than two cases available, so live a little and make sure you jump fast to snag at least one of these haunting bottles. It’s a treat you will not regret, I assure you!