A winter art installation showing different perspective of Bordeaux vineyards

Last February, the Estate of Château Palmer became the full-scale playground of artist Nathalie Rodach. Inspired by the concept of crude sap, mimicking the large upward flow that runs through the plants’ conducting vessels, the plastics artist has stretched out red pigment along one kilometer of the vineyard, tracing the veins that converge toward the Estate cellar.

The art performance has been filmed at three different scales: with a drone, to get a broader view; with an over-the-shoulder camera, for a view at ground level; and at a macroscopic scale. Showing that the more we approach, the fewer traces we can perceive, the artist seeks to convey the idea of "the unseizable future". These videos were subsequently shown at Bordeaux’s “Arrêt sur l’Image” Gallery, accompanied by a large installation comprising 180 red chalk drawings.

When Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Palmer rebought the wine-producing property in 1814, it was already famous thanks to the high quality of its wines, tasted at the court of Versailles. It was subsequently used for 30 years to increase the aura of this place, which was named after him. The Pereire brothers, the new owners, had a Neo-Renaissance Castle built there in 1856.

There was a new change of ownership after the 1930s crisis: four dynasties have taken part in making their wine gain worldwide recognition. Their descendants entrusted Thomas Duroux with the management of Château Palmer, with the mission to "continue pushing the Estate forward in a more responsible spirit, mindful of the world that surrounds us".

Trônant sur la rive gauche du vignoble bordelais, tout près de l’estuaire de la Gironde, Château Palmer bénéficie d’un terroir exceptionnel et d’un encépagement assez inhabituel en Médoc. Merlot et Cabernet Sauvignon y cohabitent en proportions égales en couvrant chacun 47% du domaine. S’y ajoute une touche de Petit Verdot pour une alliance à nulle autre pareille.

Classified as Third Growth (Troisième Grand Cru Classé) according to the 1855 official classification of Bordeaux wines, Château Palmer is recognized as one of the icons of the Margaux appellation, with vintages that have become legendary. Far from being satisfied with this prestige, the wine estate continues to pursue its quest for excellence: it was one of the pioneers to start adopting biodynamics in 2008. Six years later, the whole estate has turned to biodynamic agriculture.