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TODAY

Several families of Bordeaux, English, and Dutch extraction (the Sichel, Mähler-Besse, Ginestet, and Miailhe families), all involved in the wine trade, united to buy Palmer in 1938 and have worked hard to give the estate its present reputation.

The descendents of the Sichel and Mähler-Besse families are still major shareholders of Château Palmer, furthering the work done by their grandparents.

The Mähler family originally came from the Netherlands, where they divided their time between the textile trade and the sale of fine wines in Arnhem. The founder of the Franco-Dutch dynasty, Frederick (1868-1952), married Marguerite Besse, from a family of Bordeaux shipowners, in 1905 and settled in Bordeaux to establish a wine business. In 1938, Frederick Mähler wanted to buy a wine estate, and had his eye on Château Gruaud-Larose. However, his friends Sichel, Ginestet, and Miailhe convinced him to join forces with them to buy Château Palmer.

Frederick Mähler developed sales of Château Palmer to the Netherlands, Belgium, the Dutch colonies, Germany, Central Europe, and Russia via the négociant firm of Mähler-Besse.

His elder son, Henry (1906-1997), joined the family firm in 1928 and took over from his father in 1945.

Today, Henry's son, Franck, heads the firm.

The Sichel family went into the wine trade in 1883. The dynasty's founder, Hermann Sichel, a German, had three sons. Each one founded his own wine firm: one in France, another in England, and a third in Germany. Allan Sichel (1900-1967) distributed Bordeaux wines in England and founded Maison Sichel in Bordeaux. Because of his love of wine, he acquired Château Palmer with other associates in 1938 - a mad challenge in light of the catastrophic situation for even the greatest châteaux at the time.

Allan Sichel was a connoisseur of Bordeaux wines and fell in love with the region. He also had his father's commercial acumen. His son, Peter (1931-1998), came to work with the family firm in Bordeaux in 1960. Peter married Diana, also from England. His sons Allan, James, Charles, and David continue the family tradition at Maison Sichel.

The managers

Edouard Miailhe had the heavy responsibility of managing the estate during the German occupation. Donald and Petie Kladstrup, authors of a very interesting book entitled "Wine and War", published in 2002, devote several pages to him. After the drama of the Second World War and the deterioration of the château by German troops, Palmer's vineyard was renovated in the 1950s under the management of Jean Bouteiller (1913-1962), Frédérick Mähler's son-in-law. One of Jean Bouteiller's sons, Bertrand, took over from him until 2004.

These families have always given priority to quality, despite the financial risk this entailed. They have unfailingly applied the principles that have made the great wines of Bordeaux so successful: authenticity, quality, and permanence. Sustained, uncompromising efforts have enabled this outstanding terroir to reveal its full potential, and to produce one of the greatest wines in the world.