Vintage report - Bordeaux 2007 En Primeur Wines

For those of a superstitious bent, 2007 provides plenty of ammunition: a year of 13 moons, the lucky number 7 and of course the fact that the only great vintage with a seven at the end in the last two hundred years was 1947!

Fascinating as these quirks are, Mother Nature is a far more useful indicator and it is certainly true to say that 2007 was one of the more erratic growing seasons of recent times. A pleasant, mild winter gave way to glorious weather in March and April. Many an Easter egg was eaten al-fresco and sales of Rosé took an early surge. For the vines, such balmy conditions caused a frenzy of activity, with buds bursting a full three weeks early, as they did in 2003. Early predictions were for a repeat of that earlier extraordinary vintage but given how wrong that turned out to be, we can only assume that Nostradamus had delegated to Michael Fish.

May, June, July and especially August were some of the dreariest months that any of us can remember. In the UK, summer just didn’t happen, with a washed out Wimbledon and a record mud bath at Glastonbury. In Bordeaux, conditions were little better and this meant months of toil in the vineyard, with the humid, moist conditions the perfect environment for rot. The lack of warmth and sunlight meant that the early start to the growing season was gradually eroded away to nothing and all thoughts of taking nice long vacances on the Côte d’Azur were abandoned.

Finally, gloriously, but perhaps a little too late for some, the weather broke on 29^th August and September was ushered in to warm, dry and sunny conditions which lasted the month. A rush for ripeness ensued and most growers were able to harvest in fine conditions, although over an unusually extended period. The norm in Bordeaux is for grapes to be picked around 110 days after flowering but in many cases, the result in 2007 was nearer an incredible 125 to 140 days. Later ripening Cabernet benefited from this more than Merlot but one pitfall that some fell into was to sacrifice acidity and levels are generally average with some even a little flabby or overly soft.

Whilst there were certainly no euphoric exclamations come late October, when all but the last (and most gorgeously botrytised) Sauternes were in, a sense of gentle relief emerged from the region that the vintage had indeed been saved by the bell.

There were no short cuts in 2007. The only way to make good wine was through sheer hard work. Whilst those on the best terroirs started, as they always do, with a natural advantage, it was clear from our tastings that the only way to lock in that quality was to bend backs and put in some graft. Many growers emphasized the need to encourage homogeneity in the ripening process following the uneven fruit set and the inclement conditions that followed. Treatment against rots by fungicide and strict canopy management was obligatory as were green harvests and even pink harvests (removing grapes after véraison). In short, strict selection at every stage of the process was the only way to ensure that high quality fruit ended up in the vats.

The problem is that not everyone can do this. Such meticulous attention, sacrifice and manpower costs an awful lot of money and cash was indeed king in 2007. Lesser properties with wealthy owners were able to close the hierarchical gap but for many of the smaller fry, the task was too great. This is not a vintage to go long on petits châteaux.

As we have documented many times in the past, Bordeaux today has access to the latest technology and this was put to good use in 2007. The lighter style of the vintage meant that those itching to extract heavily needed to resist the temptation. With no real heat in the vintage to speak of, skins were not thick and aromas were fragrant rather than heady. Many have commented that 2007 is no 2005 and in practical terms, this means accepting the vintage for what it is and going easy on it, accentuating its charms. Don’t try to turn a 10 stone fly-half into a 16 stone crash centre!

The use of press wine has taken on renewed importance and many of the top châteaux were keen to stress the work that they had done to maximize quality here so that they could add more press wine than usual and thus create a little more flesh and volume. Many also mentioned that their intention was to reduce both the percentage of new oak and the time spent in it. Such tactics seem eminently sensible to us but despite this, there were still a depressing number who used the same formula as in every other vintage and their wines varied between dull and uninteresting and horrific and painful. Fortunately, they stick out like a sore thumb, so no danger of us offering them!

The usual temptation to declare a vintage in favour of the right or left banks serves no purpose in 2007. For us, Pomerol, Pauillac and St Julien were the most successful for reds but only because they have the highest concentration of conscientious growers and talented winemakers. Lafleur is yet again, a truly outstanding wine and early signs are that the major critics concur with that assessment. In Pauillac, Latour engaged us the most, showing levels of finesse and charm not seen for many years. Lynch Bages and Pontet Canet again demonstrated that they are two of the most consistent sources of great wine in the Médoc. We also loved Pichon-Baron and Grand Puy Lacoste.

In St Julien, Léoville Las Cases was totally outstanding and every bit a first growth this year. Ducru Beaucaillou also excelled, as did Léoville Barton (as we have come to expect). Langoa Barton is also very good this year.

St Emilion has produced, yet again, the biggest divergence between the divine (Cheval Blanc and Ausone amongst the top names, L’Arrosée further down) and the devils (which naturally we will not be offering!). Margaux and St Estèphe produced a larger number of very average wines than they really should, cruelly exposing some who had covered themselves in glory only two years before. All three appellations do however possess some notable exceptions but their identities will cause little surprise - Palmer, Margaux, Montrose and Calon Ségur all excelled although Cos d’Estournel was a little off colour on the day, such are the vagaries of en primeur tasting. In fact, one should point out that in a vintage such as 2007, accurate tasting is far more critical than in homogenous vintages such as 2005 and wherever possible, we endeavoured to retaste, often three or four times.

Pessac-Léognan is a happy hunting ground, especially for the dry whites which are on top form yet again but also with some lovely reds and not just at the Haut Brion stable either, although it was, admittedly, hugely impressive.

The biggest sensation is Sauternes where some are expressing genuine excitement. As in 1967 and 1997, the sweet whites are consistently excellent and comparisons are even being made in some quarters to the legendary 2001s. Rieussec, Suduiraut, Doisy Védrines & Guiraud all figured highly on our lists.

Were these vintage conditions to have arrived 30 years ago, we would have a washout vintage that compares to legendary stinkers such as 1977. Bordeaux today though is so much more advanced and it would seem that anything short of a hurricane can be coped with by its growers. For this, they deserve hearty congratulation and our thanks for their dedication and hard work.

The best of the 2007s will provide much pleasurable drinking and are certainly worth buying, but not at any price. While tasting in Bordeaux we stressed the need for prudence on pricing, but this is not a natural position for many in Bordeaux to take, particularly when they argue how much cost has gone into producing the 2007 vintage, so we shall have to rely on their good sense. With the euro 15-20% stronger we shall be buying selectively and advise customers to do the same. If you are an investor, then this is not a vintage for you.

We love Bordeaux and our customers clearly do too. Bordeaux has produced, against all odds, some lovely wines in 2007 and credit is due to their makers for this, something that their forefathers could never have achieved. As a result, this is not a vintage to write off, but rather one to buy selectively for drinking (earlier than the 2006 and 2005s), for pleasure but not for speculative profit.

At armit, our policy is to give honest guidance and we do not feel that 2007 is a vintage in which large scale primeur buying is beneficial. We have therefore put together a short list (in the truest sense) that we can actively recommend. There will, we hope, as a result of competitive pricing, be more wines that we can add to this as the campaign progresses but the following are where we would advise customers to head first:

Releases should start in earnest towards the end of April, when the sage of Maryland, Robert Parker, is expected to release his eagerly awaited notes and scores. As each château takes its turn centre-stage, we will aim to circulate an offer by email. If you would like to receive this, please make sure we have your email address .

Buying en-primeur is your chance to buy unfinished wine as it lies in barrel in the cellars of the producer. This is the first time that the product is put to market and offers the best chance of acquiring precisely what you want and at the best price. It is also an opportunity to specify whether you would the wine bottled in a different format, such as magnums or double magnums (for a small charge).

The price is quoted “in bond” which means delivered into a UK bonded cellar but does not include duty or VAT, which will need to be paid either when the wine arrives into the UK (likely to be in 2010) or when you withdraw the wine from bond at a later date. Wines can only be purchased as full cases.

For further information, advice and recommendations, please call any of the sales team on 020 7908 0660.

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