2007 Bordeaux: Vintage Report  
In April 2008, three members of the Albany Vintners team visited Bordeaux to taste the 2007s. Every vintage is exciting to discover en primeur and we were intrigued to see how the stars and up-and-coming estates had performed in challenging year. The good news is that the vintage is better than expected - 2007 could never live up to the richness of 2005 or the tannic power of 2006 but it is a good vintage with wines of pure fruit and charm which will reward early to mid-term drinking. The whites demand attention this year, with excellent crisp dry whites and impressively rich Sauternes.

Weather Conditions
The growing season started reasonably with early warm weather interspersed with colder spells resulting in very early but irregular budding. More erratic weather in May and June also meant irregular flowering and the failure of some fruit to set resulting in a small crop. The summer months caused much nail-biting amongst the Chateaux owners with a dull July and a humid August. At this point the outlook for 2007 was extremely gloomy but a fine and sunny month of September saved the crop in dramatic style, allowing the grapes to ripen unhurriedly, right through to early October. This resulted in the longest hang-time on record, 20% more time from flowering to harvest, which undoubtedly nourished the grapes. 

Erratic weather conditions in 2007 meant that the vineyard needed close attention: multiple treatments, crop-thinning, green harvesting, and even pink harvesting (to remove late-ripening grapes). At Ducru Beaucaillou, Bruno Borie ordered the crop to be fully deleafed to ensure maximum exposure to the long-awaited sunshine, while at Chateau Margaux the entire harvesting team spent several days in training to refine their picking and selection skills.

Reds
While 2007 will never be a 'Great' vintage for reds, there are some good wines in each appellation, and some very good wines. Cabernet Sauvignon is especially dominant in Left Bank blends this year; Merlots of the Right Bank turned out well and Cabernet Franc in Pomerol was of very high quality. Not all estates had the resources to cope with such a labour-intensive vintage and with uneven ripeness a problem, some second wines and lesser estates exhibit vegetal notes and are not worth seeking out en primeur.

The vintage's best wines are those that benefitted from the combination of great terroir, modern viticulture methods and respectful wine-making to avoid over-extraction, over-oaking and over-manipulation - less is definitely more in 2007. The wines have good colour and fruit but are not the concentrated wines of 2005 and 2006. With lower alcohol and tannins than in recent years they recall the lighter-style of Claret for which Bordeaux became famous - only less austere and more charming. At their best they are delicious with pure juicy fruit (as in 2004) and the texture is soft and supple with exceptionally smooth tannins. Like 1999, they are destined to provide pleasurable drinking on release and to the medium term with the best potentially drinking up to ten+ years.

Sweet whites
A great year.  Growers in Sauternes are used to the challenges of irregular ripening, and (noble) rot and make successive tries through the vineyard. Here the long indian summer rewarded them with complexity, impressive botrytis and great concentration. The wines have excellent sweetness from high sugar levels but without the high alcohols of 2003 and 2005. Some commentators have likened the vintage to (perhaps) the great 1967. Certainly it is the best vintage for sweet wines since 2001, combining richness and freshness.

"THIS IS A YEAR WHICH IS BEING COMPARED WITH 2001 FOR ITS RICHNESS AND PURITY, 1988 FOR ITS BALANCE AND BREED, WITH SIGHTS SET ON 1967 AS THE ULTIMATE ROLE MODEL." DAVID PEPPERCORN MW, DECANTER.COM

Dry whites
The cool summer resulted in very pure, aromatic, tangy wines - ripe citrus and tropical fruits matched with lovely vibrancy. The grapes were picked at a leisurely pace in early September under ideal conditions ensuring total ripeness.

ROBERT PARKER, WINE ADVOCATE 176 - "THE FINEST 2007S TEND TO BE DARK RUBY-COLORED WITH PURPLE HIGHLIGHTS, SWEET, RIPE BERRY FRUIT SIMILAR TO BLACK CHERRIES AND BLACK CURRANTS, MEDIUM BODY, SILKY TANNINS, LOW ACIDITY, AND PURE, ROUND CHARMING PERSONALITIES WITH GOOD EQUILIBRIUM.   BY AND LARGE, THE WINES LACK DENSITY, STRUCTURE, AND SERIOUS LONG-TERM AGING POTENTIAL.  MOST WILL BE DRINKABLE AS SOON AS THEY ARE BOTTLED (ACTUALLY, MANY ARE SO PRECOCIOUS, THEY COULD HAVE BEEN GULPED DOWN AS BARREL SAMPLES), AND SHOULD AGE SURPRISINGLY WELL FOR 10-15 YEARS.  TRUTHFULLY, MOST CONSUMERS WILL PROBABLY LOVE THE STYLE OF THE VINTAGE'S TOP WINES BECAUSE THEY ARE SO FLATTERING, SEDUCTIVE, AND FRUIT-FORWARD.

IF THE VINTAGE HAS ANY GREATNESS, IT IS THE DRY WHITES WINES OF PESSAC-LEOGNAN AND GRAVES, AND AS MY COLLEAGUE, NEAL MARTIN, REPORTS, THE PROFOUND SWEET WINES OF BARSAC AND SAUTERNES."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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