2007 BORDEAUX EN PRIMEUR
Survival of the fittest
The Lay & Wheeler team visited Bordeaux earlier this month with only modest hopes for the 2007 vintage. Yet while nobody is claiming that it is a great year, our tastings reveal that a number of good and occasionally very good wines have been made. Red wines are elegant, fresh and fruity with supple tannins, and the best examples are built for the medium term. Dry whites are eminently appealing whilst liquoreux wines show genuine promise. It is a reprise of an old tune, but that a fine September and early part of October saved the vintage is without question.
VINTAGE OVERVIEW
The growing season started well enough and April saw its warmest average temperature for 100 years. But four difficult months from May to August caused significant anxiety amongst the Bordelais, a period that demanded both detailed attention and dedication in the vineyards. Summer was therefore practically a non-event and as August drew to a close even the most optimistic growers were concerned. The arrival of a high-pressure system over the region on the 29th August brought welcome relief from an extended period of cool, cloudy weather. The transformation of fortunes that followed was extraordinary. Skies cleared and there began an advantageous spell of settled, sunny weather that revived hopes for the vintage. There have been numerous ‘close call’ vintages in the past but none came much closer than 2007. During our visit to Château Calon-Ségur we were advised by proprietor Madame Gasqueton that, contrary to the traditional wisdom of ‘août fait le mout’, in 2007 it was September that ‘made the must (wine)’ by picking up the vintage by its bootstraps and setting the style of the year.
Vines responded to Nature’s gift and, by the middle of the month, the earliest ripening Merlots were gaining sugar and colour. We are told that proprietors of some lesser properties took the decision to pick immediately, reluctant to take undue risks. Nevertheless the brave delayed and delayed again as the méteo forecast the fine weather to continue. As a result, these châteaux took advantage of an extended period of up to 140 days between the start of the flowering and the harvest (normally 110 days) to permit final ripening to take place. It is well known saying that every Bordeaux vintage is different, but undoubtedly the 2007 vintage is more different than most!
It is clear that the greatest successes have been at properties that had resources at their disposal to dedicate time in the vineyard during the summer months. It was essential to monitor vines on a daily basis and to intervene when needed so as to make the most of what were the trickiest of conditions. Bruno Borie advised that he instructed his vineyard workers to completely de-leaf at Ducru-Beaucaillou to give the berries the greatest opportunity of achieving optimum ripeness. An added problem was that véraison (change of colour of fruit) extended over an abnormally long period, a phenomenon traced back to irregular and prolonged flowering in May and June. It is abundantly clear that nothing could be taken for granted and as so often happens in difficult years, estates with the finest terroir, expertise, resources coupled with no little courage, have produced the better wines. The corollary is that those estates that could not marshal sufficient resources frequently suffered accordingly.