Bordeaux 2007 from bottle: reach for the whites

March 17, 2010

… Although some reds did quite well. Here in no particular order is a short list for red wines from estates which probably also did not go too far in terms of price:

Chateau Canon St Emilion (balanced, fresh and delicious)

Chateau La Pointe in Pomerol (surprisingly good from a typical underperformer – and also not expensive)

Domaine de Chevalier Pessac Leognan (both  white and red)

Chateau Leoville Barton and Leoville Poyferre in St Julien (top notch, different styles)

Chateau Rauzan Segla, then Giscours in Margaux (the latter is a better price/quality ratio no doubt)

Chateau Poujeaux Moulis

Chateau Batailley in Pauillac (representing an excellent price/quality ratio in this vintage

THE COMPLETE IN BOTTLE NOTES*

The bottle tastings of Bordeaux 2007 proved predictable for the most part, when tasted in New York City in January 2010 and again in Duesseldorf, Germany in March 2010. In one of the two enclosed videos – from New York earlier this year – I cannot help but chuckle when Michel Cuvelier of Château Clos Fourtet calls the vintage “magnifique”. He was being ironic, and I say three cheers for his good sense of humor! Not that the reds were bad. Have you not heard? They do not make bad vintages anymore in Bordeaux… But compare most 2007s with the good but not truly great 2006, and you get a very noticeable difference. As I did at a Sherry Lehmann tasting in NYC. Take La Conseillante, a very expensive and very good Pomerol. The 2006 simply showed more depth and focus than the 2007. Many more examples abound.

But beyond the video from New York (above), I must say that the whites – both dry and sweet – succeeded brilliantly in 2007. This feeling was confirmed in Duesseldorf when 88 Bordeaux chateaux held a tasting during the ProWein fair in Germany. In this second, more detailed video, I ask some winemakers – John Kolasa of Rauzan Segla and Canon and Lilian Barton of Langoa and Leoville Barton, among others – about what they needed to do to best face the challenges of this difficult vintage.

Summary: Look out for the whites in 2007. Both the Sauternes and the dry whites are overall excellent. At the very top of the dry whites – aside from the ultra expensive for millionaires only Haut Brion and Laville Haut Brion (particularly great in 2007, at least from barrel) – would be Domaine de Chevalier and Pape Clement: the former for its supreme precision, the latter for its wonderful opulence. Third place has to go to a lovely Smith Haut Lafitte, but not far behind are many other whites from the Graves region of Bordeaux. For lovers of Sauternes/Barsac, Climens is particularly successful in 2007 but so are some other estates. Of notable significance to me at least Sigalas Rabaud, as well as the more usual suspects including Rieussec and Fargues but also an excellent Coutet and Doisy Daene. Stupidly, the Union de Grands Crus de Bordeaux excludes one of the best Sauternes: Raymond Lafon, which was also superb in 2007. On a qualitative level, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the reds tasted. The short list includes wines like Leoville Barton, which shows good substance as well as elegance. Leoville Poyferre was also very nice, perhaps showing a fatter style but overall very smooth. One wine to note is the up and coming – and still underrated – Chateau Batailley in Pauillac. As the more established Pauillacs like Pontet Canet fetch stratospheric prices, why not seek out less well known but also very good 5th growths like Batailley (and Haut Bages Liberal for that matter)? Just one quick divergence: HERE is an article I wrote for Decanter on the 5th growths of Pauillac which shows you which lesser known Pauillacs are worth seeking out, even in a middling vintage like 2007. I especially liked some Right Bank wines, such as Canon and Figeac in St Emilion, but also Gazin and the unfortunately far more expensive La Conseillante in Pomerol. Still, all of these suffered when compared to the 2006 vintage, which was not much more expensive than the 2007. Consumers would be wiser to seek out reds from 2008, which is not only less expensive but also clearly superior in terms of quality (unlike in 2007, 2008 had a fine July which helped concentrate the grapes, while 2007 had a far worse summer overall). Still, some estates known for their less egotistical pricing – such as Gazin and Leoville Barton – could offer some relative good price/quality ratios in 2007. Wines in RED I liked either because they bucked a trend (Domaine de Chevalier red), provide particularly good price/quality ratios (La Pointe in Pomerol) or proved particularly delicious (Domaine de Chevalier white, Sigalas Rabaud Sauternes).

Special note: many missing wines were either simply not present or I did not get a chance to re-taste from bottle.

Pessac-Leognan / Saint Emilion-Pomerol /Margaux/Northern Medoc/Sauternes-Barsac

Pessac Leognan

Chateau Bouscaut (red): Soft and quite elegant. The 2006 has more structure and is not quite ready to drink.

Chateau Carbonnieux (red): Fresh, refreshing nose, the palate is not tight. Rather open knit, but not diluted – and not very substantial either. A pleasant claret.

Chateau Carbonnieux (white): Pineapple and Sauvignon notes like grapefruit. There is good focus here. The 2006 was not as focused, but showed pleasing yellow peach aspects.

Domaine de Chevalier (red): Pretty nose, rather floral. Palate is again not too extracted, a good judgment. Olivier Bernard was kind enough to give me a bottle which I tasted in Washington next month and it was very pleasing to drink. One of the best 2007 reds tasted.

Domaine de Chevalier (white): Very precise and impressive. Lots of energy in this wine but now contained. Refreshing and bracing. The 2006 is more expressive on the palate, more ample, but not quite as focused as the 2007.

Chateau de Fieuzal (red): Slightly vegetal aspect but not too much. Warm and agreeable, with a minty aspect I sometimes find with this estate and an agreeable finish.

Chateau Haut Bailly (red): Tasted earlier over lunch in a double vertical with Domaine de Chevalier, to which I give the edge. I had found it just a tad stalky at the double vertical, but really not so much. Perhaps just a tad underripe tannin sneaking through, but the overall feeling is one of polish and finesse. Just slightly pinched on the finish.

Chateau Haut Bergey (red): I thought this was marred by rather unripe tannins.

Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion (white): This is fresh and zesty but not the most exciting of the whites I had tried also on January 23.

Chateau Latour Martillac (white): The nose is a bit closed but shows promising aspects of white pepper.
Chateau Malartic Lagraviere (red): Just a bit vegetal here and a tad sour. but not that bad either, showing good texture and a ample corpulence. But it does not escape the vintage character, really.

Chataeu Malartic Lagraviere (white): The white is very nice, combining richness with brisk grapefruit aspects.

Chateau Olivier (white): Not as rich or as broad as the Smith Haut Lafitte, a bit tightly wound – which is not a bad thing at this early stage – showing steely Sauvignon austerity for the moment.

Chateau Pape Clement (red): Fresh, deep nose – which is almost always very pleasing from this estate – but why oh why such oakiness on the palate and an alcoholic drying finish?

Chateau Pape Clement (white): Very fine, elegant but also rich with peach and exotic mango fruit. This is a great success. Perhaps equal to the Domaine de Chevalier, but certainly a different style. The 2006 is more crystaline, showing even a bit more body, but also hints of heat… The fine quality of the 2007 was reconfirmed in Germany.

Chateau Picque Caillou (red): I love the name of this modest estate near Pessac in the northern part of Graves. This was the first vintage under the consulting of Denis Dubourdieu and it reflects a modest extraction policy. A cherry nose with soft chocolate precedes a slightly austere palate, lacking the concentration of better vintages, but a very nice job for 2007. Tasted in Düsseldorf.

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte (red): Very nicely done here. Not over-extracted -‘this is 12.5 alcohol’ proclaimed Florence Cathiard as she poured me a sample. Well done, with soft chocolate notes, a rather supple palate, and overall quite pleasant. Lacks the depth and grip of better vintages, but what can you expect?

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte (white): Lovely orange and citrus notes, very endearing and engaging.

Saint Emilion

Chateau Angelus: Well-crafted, balanced in an Angelus sense. Is it just a tad monolithic in this vintage? Let us re-taste in a few years.

Chateau La Gaffeliere: Lovely nose but followed up with a diluted palate. A bit watery this is. The 2006 has a better nose – much better – and there is greater depth although the palate is somewhat austere.

Chateau Canon: Tasted in Düsseldorf, this wine displays elegant fruit with nuance and freshness. Three cheers to John Kolasa for his judicious work in the vineyard and in the vat room. One of the best wines tasted from bottle in 2007.

Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere: A full bodied palate but too much oak for my taste – at least it is too prominent for the vintage, but I can see how some tasters might like this. I did not re-taste in Germany.

Chateau Dassault: Good nose of cherry and toffee, solid palate though a bit austere. No drying tannin but a tad over-extracted.

Chateau Figeac: Very fresh and aromatic, not over-extracted, actually pretty and refined. A wine to drink.

Chateau Clos Fourtet: Lovely limestone freshness here. Agreeable, on the lighter side, and I say Amen to that. Nice job for the vintage.

Chateau Franc Mayne: Lovely nuanced notes on the nose, with a tight palate although polished. A bit of oak detracts however. But overall, nicely done.

Chateau Troplong Mondot: Fine nose, robust, very good body if a wee bit thinning on the finish. There are good chocolate and plum notes. Tasted again the next day, I found a more evident oak derivation, especially compared to the 2006, which was more balanced, deeper with fine dark fruit (blackberry) and no overly evident oak aspects.

Chateau Trottevieille: Deep freshness and mint on the nose, but a bit stolid and monolithic on the palate – there is fruit, yes, but somewhat tough on the finish. Tasted again the next day, I found this wine to have a diluted aspect albeit with red fruit. Compared to the 2006, which was far more substantial. The palate was austere but of a good kind – a foreboding if ripe tannin that beckons you to give this wine time in the cellar: a bit closed down today.

Pomerol

Chateau Clinet: Overly oaky on the nose. The 2006 is much more substantial, richer.

Chateau La Conseillante: Fresh nose. Judicious extraction. This is the first vintage when the estate made a second wine called ‘Duo’. ‘We tried to stay on the fruit,’ commented … Tasted again the next day and I can confirm that La Conseillante counts among the successes of red Bordeaux in 2007. But the 2006 is so much better: much more powerful on the nose, more plum and fruit in general. A bit tannic on the finish, and that is a good sign for this is a baby.

Chateau Gazin: A bit steely, tasting of raspberry sorbet but tight and tannic on the palate. A better tasting in Germany, the wine seemed just a bit fuller bodied. By comparison, the 2006 is so much more aromatically rich, and its palate does have a tannic edge, but it is also opulent: clearly a superior vintage.

Chateau La Pointe: This was actually quite soft and fine. This was the last vintage before the new ownership, if I recall, and they did a decent job for this vintage – probably not very expensive.

Margaux

Chateau Cantenac Brown: Austere but not bad; there is some decent fruit here. The 2006 is not that exciting, similar to the 2007 if a bit more full bodied.

Chateau Dauzac: Yet another overly oaky wine both on the nose and on the palate, which is also somewhat diluted. This is an estate I usually like for its friendly prices and good quality. At least their 2006 lives up to that reputation with a far more balanced nose with good fruit and a palate that is also more pleasing, showing a bit of tightness now.

Chateau Du Tertre: Vegetal nose for the 2007, but the palate is OK. The 2006 is of course much better, with this estate’s endearing spiciness in ample evidence, and this time matched by fine body and corpulence.

Chateau Ferriere: Mentholated freshness on the nose (typical from this estate), but a bit austere on the palate, showing also a hint of green. The 2006 shows much fuller body and as fine austerity that promises good things with some aging in the cellar.

Chateau Giscours: Now here is one of the better 2007s, with elegance and finesse. A good palate, suave, and even sweet and pleasant. Nice job! The 2006 displays a deeper nose of cherry, although the palate is more austere and tannic for now. Probably a good sign.

Chateau Kirwan: Well, well, well. Here we have a rounded Merlot aspect that pays dividends. The nose is fine, too. Now if only the Bordeaux pricing had been reasonable for this vintage, perhaps more people would notice relative successes like Kirwan. The 2006 is also fine – this is a rare case of the two vintages being quite comparable in quality. More austere, like the Giscours, so a bit closed down.

Chateau Labegorce: Arg there is too much oak here, although some good fruit, too. The palate is a bit diluted however. The 2006 is far better, although it dries up a tad on the finish.

Chateau Lascombes: Here we see a bit of a turnaround compared to previous experiences. We are not knocked over the head with an oak board. A nice nose and a supple palate. Well done and a pleasant surprise. The 2006 shows sweeter and more evident fruit, albeit austere on the palate. Another fine job.

Chateau Rauzan-Segla: Lovely, perfumed nose. Very fine and rich – barely 50% new oak. Also less extraction in the vat room, manager John Kolasa explained, to avoid too much contact with the seeds, but more maceration with the skin. The 2006 is bigger and bolder, with excellent tannins. Still, this is a top ten wine for 2007.

Northern Medoc (St Julien, Pauillac, St Estephe)

St Julien

Chateau Beychevelle: Good, adequate. Showing a light touch, and smooth on the palate. Elegant. This is a success for the vintage, and for the estate.

Chateau Branaire Ducru: Lovely nose and a good body, texture on the palate. Suave and fresh. Patrick Maroteaux and Jean Dominique Videau continue to make excellent wine here. The 2006 is much more full bodied.

Chateau Gruaud Larose: The first vintage under the helm of Eric Boissenot. Nose shows some toffee, just ripe enough fruit and there is a good palate which precedes a solid, clean and non drying finish. Fine. Tasted again the next day, this showed a tart aspect in comparison to the 2006 which was fuller – although the difference was not as striking as with other wines.

Chateau Lagrange: Fine aromatics, rather sweet. Some oak showing. A bit ordinary on the palate, but overall OK. An inoffensive wine not without some verve.
Chateau Langoa Barton: A wine marked by a crispy freshness, and a smooth palate, although perhaps not quite as full bodied as in better vintages. Tasted in Düsseldorf .

Chateau Leoville Barton: A smoother palate with more substance, showing some fine cassis notes on the nose and on the palate, which is quite full-bodied. A great success for the vintage, easily in the top ten. Tasted in Düsseldorf.  

Chateau Leoville Poyferre: I am impressed here, showing elegance and full body with a friendly and pleasant palate. More Merlot than usual in this vintage (65% Cabernet instead of 75%). Interestingly, while the 2006 was fuller and sweeter (plusses), it was also more evidently extracted and a tad harder on the palate (minuses).

Pauillac

Chateau Batailley: A success for the vintage – and probably not that expensive. This wine was pretty and fine, with excellent cassis expression and enough underlying Pauillac power to make it well worth your while. The 2006 is almost imposing by comparison but shows how this estate is succeeding in recent years: graphite notes, fuller body and licorice.

Chateau Lynch Bages: Lovely nose with good aromatics, fresh fruit aromas. The next day it was somehow tighter, with decent presence but also a tad vegetal. The 2006 by comparison was more evidently elegant and rich, recalling my positive experience tasting this wine at a vertical at the chateau in September 2009.

Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande (with Thomas Do Chi Nam): Lovely nose and elegant, but the price tag detracts. The 2006 was the one vintage under the consulting of Hubert de Bouard (when both sides of the vines were de-leafed) and it was smoother and with better structure.

Chateau Pontet Canet: Good, sappy and rich, with a fine texture. Another fine effort from Alfred Tesseron, but is it really worth the money when you have a better 2008 around the bend, for less?

St. Estephe

Chateau Lafon Rochet: Nice cranberry notes on the nose and on the palate, but a bit clipped on the finish. The 2006 shows a much deeper nose and a more rounded palate.

Chateau Ormes de Pez: The 2007 was not that interesting, while the 2006 was fuller and richer.

Medoc/Haut Medoc/Listrac/Moulis

Chateau Poujeaux: Agreeable nose, palate is not bad, rather ripe and even chocolaty. This estate – recently bought by the Cuvelier family – is following the previous owners’ tradition in making fine wine also in weak vintages. Tasted again the next day, Poujeaux confirms a fine success in 2007, with better palate presence than the Chasse Spleen. Their 2006 has a greater richness both on the nose and on the palate, but not that much better than the 2007 by comparison.  

Chateau Chasse Spleen: More extracted, not quite as smooth as the Poujeaux, but good. Tasted again the next day, the 2007 is again a good wine, but the 2006 is warmer, more comfortable to drink!

Chateau Clarke: Tight on the palate. The 2006 is much more substantial, with needed fat and just a better drink.

Chateau La Lagune: Shows a very fine nose, and a good attack on the palate, showing sap. But there is edginess and a mid palate which lacks a bit of concentration. OK for the vintage.

Sauternes and Barsac

Chateau Bastor Lamontagne: The 2007 showed good pineapple and tobacco notes, fine precision and a linear feel on the palate. The 2006 was richer, rounder, but lacks the precision of the 2007.

Chateau Climens: Beguiling nose of tea, bergamote, orange and very precise on the palate. The 2006 was noticeably less interesting, if very good, just less focused on the palate.

Chateau Coutet: Crystallne quince and rich. Excellent work. The 2006 shows some good botrytis spice and tobacco, more mineral and curiously more disciplined than the 2007 in this case! Tasted again in Germany, I once again detected tobacco notes as well as mandarin orange and white pepper. A fine success in 2007.

Chateau de Fargues: Very lovely wine, white peach aspects and lightly honeyed. My sample in Germany was slightly sweeter tasting and not quite as balanced. Because of bottle variation, I hesitate to highlight this in red. The 2006 has more evident richness.

Chateau Rayne Vigneau: Good pineapple fruit, fresh, also a nice linear aspect typical of this vintage. The 2006 is actually almost as good, with a more velvety richness as well as good precision, if not as impressive in that regard as the 2007.

Chateau Doisy Daene: An excellent wine, worth seeking out for its lovely nuanced flavors of fruit and mineral. Probably not too expensive. Tasted again in Germany and I got more white peach with floral tones. Excellent.

Chateau La Tour Blanche: My sample in New York was medicinal, but a far better performance in Germany, with pineapple and spice, good concentration and an apricot finish. Once again, I would like to re-visit in a few years given the different sample results.

Chateau Guiraud: A more orange infused nose, and the palate is more evidently rich than La Tour Blanche.

Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey: Very finely made but not as impressive as some of the others. Still you cannot go wrong here.

Chateau Sigalas Rabaud: Richer and more substantial than Lafaurie Peyraguey, and it shows excellent nuance. An over-performer in 2007 and another wine to seek out because it will not be that expensive.

* As indicated, some wines were not present either in New York or in Germany (the first growths and non UGCB members for example), so I do not include them in the above list.