Top 100 wines of Palette
Discover the top 100 best wines of Palette of Palette as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the wines that are popular of Palette and the best vintages to taste in this region.
Discovering the wine region of Palette
Palette is a very small appellation in the Provence wine region, located in the far southeast of France. Created in 1948, the appellation covers red, white and rosé wines produced near Aix-en-Provence, a town just North of Marseille. Production is dominated by a single producer, Château Simone, which owns about half of the vineyards covered by the appellation. The rest of the production comes from Château Cremade, Château Henri Bonnaud, Château de Meyreuil and La Badiane.
The Palette title applies specifically to a small area of the hills east of Aix, in the communes of Meyreuil, Le Tholonet and Aix-en-Provence itself. In the past, the area of the appellation was about 23 hectares, but in 2005, INAO (the French government Body responsible for the country's appellation system) estimated the total area at 43 hectares. This increase reflects the significant modernization and expansion of the wine industry in southern France since the 1990s. Because of the local soils, Palette's wines are distinct from those of the much larger appellations (Côtes de Provence and Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence) that effectively surround it.
News from the vineyard of Palette
Aldo Fiordelli: ‘The east-facing vineyard absorbs the morning’s first sunlight’
I’m fortunate enough to taste a fair amount of fine wine each year and I have come to the conclusion that each of us is forced to build our own stylistic preferences, regardless of the appellation or classification of a wine. Instead of simply choosing a bottle of Bordeaux over Barolo, for example, most of us probably aim to drink each on the right occasion and, in doing so, carve out our individual preferences for these wines. My personal bias – which I must confess, to be fair and transp ...
Rhône 2020 En Primeur: full vintage report and top-scoring wines
In brief: Rhône 2020 En Primeur Northern Rhône 2020: 4.5/5 A reliably fresh, balanced and approachable vintage – a return to classicism after a series of powerful years. Excellent white wines. Southern Rhône: 4/5 Fresh, juicy and immediate reds with lower alcohol than recent years, though some lack concentration. Beautiful white wines. ‘These are wines that will provide huge amounts of pleasure, straight out of the gate. It is that rare thing – an excellent vintage for early drinking.̵ ...
Andrew Jefford: ‘Pinotism is a cult within the wine world. Why?’
The voice drops a little; the tone grows more reverential. Everyone knows; everyone understands. There will be wry allusions to a quest, perhaps even the grail. Sacrifice is expected en route; failure (always forgiven: a badge of honour) beckons on every side. Kitted up, your hopes armour-plated? I might be talking about planting vines on a cleared slope, or simply about taking the corkscrew to a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine, but you all know by now what’s meant. Pinot Noir. ‘Pinotism’ ...