Robert Parker
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2007 Bordeaux:
After a mediocre summer season, particularly June, July, and August, September was gorgeously sunny, and, more importantly, dry. It saved 2007 from becoming a poor vintage (1992). What resulted appears to be an improved, modern-day version of 1997. There are certainly plenty of green, thin, herbal, herbaceous wines that lack mid-palates as well as fat, but the top terroirs, the finest addresses, and the most committed châteaux owners, by doing extensive work in the vineyard, and taking advantage of the Indian summer, have produced endearingly fruity, soft, silky-textured clarets that are filled with charm and purity. The top wines possess no vegetal aspects.
Of course, the wine press is in a foul mood about Bordeaux because of alarmingly high prices for 2005 (which make 2000's extravagant prices appear cheap). Moreover, the press feel the Bordelais should give the consumer and the wine trade a break. That is the fundamental question regarding the 2007 Bordeaux. There is unquestionably little need to buy these wines as futures unless dramatic price reductions occur. I don’t expect that to happen.
For the producers who did it properly, it was a labor-intensive vintage in the vineyard, and their selection process of culling out less than desirable lots in the post-fermentation period was even more severe and costly than usual. In short, the finest wines were expensive to make. Moreover, the most famous châteaux are liquid and sitting pretty after the successful sales of recent vintages. They can afford to wait for the 2007s to be sold after bottling. Pity the consumer, especially those in the U.S.A. with our Third World currency.
The traditional wine futures market has included the United States, England, Switzerland, and to a lesser extent, a few other countries. The United States will be a non-player in 2007 given the weak currency as well as the worsening sub-prime financial crisis. Moreover, this is an election year with major political changes on the horizon. England’s pound sterling, while buoyant against the American dollar, has declined versus the euro, making these wines less attractive. Switzerland is probably in a position to purchase some 2007s, but just how much Bordeaux can that small country buy? There is speculation that some Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Korea as well as Russia and India will be interested in purchasing wine futures, but by and large, the largest Asian markets tend to be much more interested in bottled wines rather than contracts for unbottled barrel samples.
In any event, this will all be interesting to follow. As a wine critic, my first and foremost responsibility is to report on the quality of the wines, and there were some very fine efforts produced in 2007. Rather than publish individual tasting notes on each wine, I have decided to summarize each major Bordeaux appellation and list the most prominent wines with their estimated scores from the barrel.
However, the vintage can be best summarized by the following tasting note, which basically characterizes the finest wines of 2007. 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 white wines of Pessac-Léognan and Graves, and as my colleague, Neal Martin, reports, the profound sweet wines of Barsac and Sauternes.
St-Estéphe
The appellation that begins just north of Lafite-Rothschild, with the imposing Cos d’Estournel looking down on its renowned first-growth neighbor, is dominated by three estates - Cos d’Estournel, Montrose, and Calon-Ségur. Historically, it has been a treasure-trove for many cru bourgeois, but some of my past favorites are now going through lackluster performance periods. In particular, this includes Meyney, spectacular in the decade of the eighties, which is currently fashioning mediocre wines, as is Haut-Marbuzet, which has not performed up to its potential for several years. While Phélan-Ségur appears to be rising in quality, both De Pez and Les Ormes de Pez remain somewhat of a mystery.
However, it is not all bad news. One of the most encouraging developments is the renaissance/resurrection of Tronquoy-Lalande, which is now under the same ownership as Château Montrose, and benefits from essentially the same winemaking team. Clearly a property on the rebound, in just a few vintages it has eclipsed what is being produced at Les Ormes de Pez and Haut-Marbuzet. Another property that appears poised to begin turning out very fine St.-Estèphes is the beautifully situated, charming Château Le Crock.
Among the classified-growths, Cos d’Estournel and Château Montrose dominate the appellation, but they are made in very different styles. With Jean Delmas coming out of retirement after producing every Haut-Brion between 1961 and 2003, the backstrapping, powerful Montrose will certainly begin to display sweeter tannins and more elegance. Cos d’Estournel is impeccably run by Michel Reybier, who has one of Bordeaux’s great young talents at his side, Jean-Guillaume Prats. Calon-Ségur, which is run by the inimitable Madame Gasqueton, represents traditional winemaking at its finest. Besides possessing a fabulous terroir, no compromises are permitted at Calon-Ségur. However, the wines are much less showy in their youth than those of either Cos d’Estournel or Montrose. The biggest sleeper selection is Lafon-Rochet. While the château has been painted a bright yellow/orange by the Tesseron family (making it stand out like a brothel in the middle of the gorgeous northern Médoc), the wine is top-notch, going from strength to strength. Another classified-growth, Cos Labory has gotten better and better over recent vintages, but it remains an uninspiring claret that should be better.
Pauillac
The most famous appellation of the Médoc, Pauillac is home to three first-growths as well as a bevy of top-notch estates. With the exception of Pedesclaux, virtually all of the classified growths produce high quality wine. Moreover, the second wines from such estates as Latour and Lafite-Rothschild are better than many classified growths. The selection process in 2007 was brutal for the top properties, with very little wine produced.
As shrewd consumers know, Pauillac’s value picks (if you can call them that) remain Grand-Puy-Lacoste, and increasingly, Duhart-Milon, which has been invigorated by the Rothschild fortune as well as the leadership team at Lafite. Batailley, which always made a rustic, old style wine, is producing better wines thanks to the commitment of proprietor Philippe Castèja. And don’t forget the brilliant Pontet-Canet of Alfred Tesseron, who has done more than anybody to elevate that estate to nearly first-growth quality. Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, which was disappointing in 2005, has been sold to the Roederer-Deutz Champagne firm, and quality in both 2006 and 2007 (both lesser vintages than 2005) is far better than the 2005. Still under most consumer’s radar, Grand-Puy-Ducasse is beginning to make serious noises, and Pichon Longueville Baron continues to produce fabulous clarets. Lynch-Bages has lightened it style somewhat, but this may be a temporary transformation as Jean-Michel Cazes has retired, and his son, Charles, is now running this estate.
The 2007 Pauillacs tend to be fruity, soft wines that are flattering, charming, and easy to taste. The first-growths are all very competitive. In the decade of the eighties, it was hard to pick a favorite. In the 1990s, Latour and Lafite seemed to upstage Mouton-Rothschild, but over the last several vintages, Mouton has made every suggestion of not taking its place behind its two competitors.
St-Julien
Located just south of Pauillac, few appellations have had such a remarkably consistent record of high quality over the last several decades. When I first began writing about wine, two of my favorite estates were Gruaud Larose and Talbot. Both seem far less impressive today. However, their decline has been more than made up for by the brilliant quality of such estates as Ducru Beaucaillou, Branaire Ducru, Léoville Las Cases, Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton, and the resurgence of St.-Pierre, Gloria, and Lagrange. Moreover, the sensational price/quality relationship of Gloria, Hortevie, and Lalande Borie should not be overlooked by price-minded consumers.
Margaux and the Southern Medoc
The largest, most sprawling of all the Médoc’s major communes, Margaux has witnessed a revolution in quality. While the decade of the nineties focused on the garagiste movement as well as the breakthrough efforts by many St.-Emilion estates, the first decade of the new millennium has witnessed an extraordinary across-the-board improvement of virtually every classified-growth château in Margaux ... and there are twenty-one of them. When I first began writing about wines, there was only a handful of top wines from this appellation, but today it is the appellation of choice for excellent wines, although the world’s connoisseurs have not quite realized how sensational so many Margaux have become. As a consequence, reasonably good values still exist. The quality began to soar in 2000, and the 2005s are outstanding. Like its neighbors, this region experienced difficulties in 2007, but the top properties succeeded because they made strict selections.
Château Margaux remains the finest and only first-growth of the appellation, with Palmer nipping at its heels, but smart money (and less of it) can fetch such magnificent wines are Brane Cantenac, D’Issan, Lascombes, Maléscot St.-Exupéry, Rauzan-Ségla, La Lagune, Cantemerle, Giscours, Prieuré Lichine, Boyd Cantenac, and some exceptional cru bourgeois, including D’Angludet and the resurgent d’Arsac. Additionally, the garagiste operation of Marojallia, run by the Thunevins, makes wines of second-growth quality. Recent dramatic improvement, especially acute in 2005, can be found at Cantemerle, La Lagune, Rauzan Gassies, Kirwan, and Prieuré-Lichine.
Pessac-Léognan and Graves
This is a somewhat complicated appellation, with the northern sector starting in the suburbs of the city of Bordeaux and extending south designated as Pessac-Léognan. The broader area to the south of this region is the generic Graves sector. As in every Bordeaux appellation, the competition and resurrection of once moribund estates has taken place, but perhaps more slowly in these areas than elsewhere. The leading estates of the appellation are Haut-Brion and its sister château, La Mission-Haut-Brion. They have some serious competition a few miles away with Pape-Clément, and further south from the resurgent Haut-Bailly as well as Smith-Haut-Lafitte.
Graves wines are often successful in rainy years because of the well-drained soils found in this area. They can be the most perfumed Bordeaux produced, but rarely do they possess the density and concentration of the top Right Bank wines or northern Médocs.
2007 has turned out to be an attractive vintage in this area, producing wines with very good color, excellent sweet fruit, and velvety tannins. Although they do not possess a great deal of body, they offer charm, balance, and purity, with no hard edges.
Readers looking for up-and-coming stars that remain beneath many connoisseurs’ radar, should seek out wines such as Haut-Bergey, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, and the only garagiste estate in Pessac-Léognan, Branon. Clos Marsalette, and some small estates like Méjean, Fougères-La Folie, and Luchey-Halde, are notable high quality bargain selections. Many properties in Graves and Pessac-Léognan produce white Bordeaux, and they can be very long-lived wines. 2007 is undeniably a fabulous vintage for white Bordeaux. The fruit was harvested under textbook conditions, and made from fully ripe Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.
Pomerol
Bordeaux’s epicenter for top Merlot-based wines is only 18 miles east of the city of Bordeaux, across the Gironde river. The small châteaux (more akin to country homes) in this tiny appellation have never been officially classified, but there is no doubting that the most hallowed estate is Petrus. However, there are frequently many challengers to the king’s crown, including Lafleur, L’Eglise-Clinet, Trotanoy, Le Pin, Vieux-Château-Certan, L’Evangile, La Conseillante, Clos l’Eglise, and a host of other impressively run estates such as Certan de May, Gazin, and Hosanna. Additionally, many estates are making better wines than they have in years. These include Le Gay, Feytit-Clinet, Le Moulin, Clinet, and La Clémence. In terms of high quality versus value, the Rolland-owned estate of Bon Pasteur rates highly, as does La Croix du Casse and the resurgent Le Gay. But Pomerol does not produce much wine (most estates turn out 1,500-4,000 cases) and given world-wide demand, prices are always high.
St-Emilion
Nothing has troubled the Bordeaux aristocracy and status quo more than what has happened in St.-Emilion over the last 15-20 years. Aside from being the region’s most attractive tourist area (the walled medieval village perched on several hills is breathtakingly gorgeous), the village and its surrounding vineyards represent the epicenter of Bordeaux’s qualitative revolution. While there has been abundant undeserved nonsense and criticism of the so-called garage wine movement, there is no question that it has had a profound impact on the manner in which other properties (that would have preferred to ignore it) now produce wine. Started by a generation of young men and women, the garagiste winemaking philosophy believes in taking essentially unheralded terroirs, re-examining how wines are made, and adopting such traditional Burgundian techniques as pre-fermentation cold macerations, malolactic in barrel (to better integrate the wood component), and aging on the lees, with less traumatic racking and movement of the wine. The high quality results are usually limited in production because these techniques are laborious, and much more difficult to apply to large production wineries. As a result, many of these St.-Emilion garagiste estates produce fewer than 1,000 cases. Bordeaux reactionaries have denounced these garage operations, tried to ignore them, and have black-balled them from their fraternity, but the fact is ... they are succeeding. Moreover, the finest garagiste estates will be around for decades to come.
All of this has resulted in higher and higher quality wines being produced, not only in St.-Emilion, but in other Bordeaux appellations. The revolution that began in St.-Emilion in the late eighties and exploded throughout the nineties, continues unabated. Along with the resurrection of the Margaux appellation and the resurging splendor of many Pessac-Léognan and Graves estates, St.-Emilion remains the most exciting appellation in Bordeaux. It is also the biggest, encompassing over 13,000 acres. Compare that to St.-Estèphe (3,400 acres), Pauillac (3,000 acres), St.-Julien (2,200 acres), Pomerol (2,000 acres), and Margaux (3,400 acres), and one can see there is an ocean of vineyards as well as terroirs in St.-Emilion. As in most appellations in 2007, the serious producers have turned out very fine wines, but those unwilling or unable to do the work in the vineyard and cellars have made herbal, vegetal, mediocre clarets. Some estates pushed extraction too aggressively (this is a vintage of charm, not power), which resulted in out of balance wines.
