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.
In the second part of this series, Decanter’s editorial team members highlight the wines they are looking forward to tasting at the upcoming Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC on Saturday 18th June 2022. Tina Gellie – Content Manager and Regional Editor (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & South Africa) Burrowing Owl, Cabernet Sauvignon, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 2019 In 2016, while on a press trip to British Columbia’s Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys, I had the pleasur ...
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For the first time ever, Decanter is offering readers and wine lovers alike the chance to see behind the scenes of our renowned panel tastings and experience first hand what it means to taste like an expert. Decanter’s panel tastings are one of the most rigorous exercises in blind tasting, where a panel of three experts taste and score up to 100 wines a day, based on criteria set by the Decanter editorial team. We’re delighted to announced that this autumn will see the start of our n ...
