2007 Bordeaux
Posted by Jon Bernardoni at 5:39 PM
5 comments - Categories: Wine
Bordeaux accounts for about a quarter of the wines I have in my cellar. It's my first love. The Union des Grand Crus 2007 Bordeaux tasting was earlier this week, and it's always great to get to taste through the representing wineries. 2007 was a tough year for red Bordeaux. A summer hailstorm and too many storms towards the harvest season was the main cause for the reds being diluted. The whites and Sauternes in 2007, however, were textbook.
Right off the bat I started with the 2007 Pape Clement Blanc. The nose had big, ripe and exotic fruit, along with toasty oak. It was medium to full bodied, very well balanced and smooth. This was my wine of the day and was worth the trip. The other whites from Pessac-Leognan were well made as well.
2007 for Sauternes and Barsac was a great year. The winemaker of Bastor-Lamontagne explained because of all of the rain in Bordeaux, there was a lot of moisture in the ground and the air. That moisture in the environment helped evenly spread the mold, Botrytis Cinerea. The “Noble Rot” mold helps the wines of Sauternes gets it's intense honey and saffron flavors.
Chateau Climens was my favorite Sauternes (Barsac.) The nose was a lot like a Tokaji from Hungary. It had a lot of ripe pineapple, honey, saffron and it was very intense. This was very well balanced. It had just enough acidity to balance out the sweetness and the creamy vanilla finish. This was a beauty.
The first red I tried was the best of the day to me. The Smith Haut-Lafitte had a nose of cappuccino, cassis and tart berries. In the mouth, this had hardly any tannins. This surprised me. I didn't know what to think. A newly released, good name, red Bordeaux with hardly any tannins boggles my mind.
Most of the reds I tasted were light bodied, not well structured, but fairly balanced and easy to drink. The 2007 Chateau Angelus was the biggest disappointment of the day. It was disjointed and not showing well at all. The Angelus was the best wine at the tasting the last two years. Unfortunately, not this time. It would be nice to taste it to see how it will be in five years.
The consensus of 2007 red Bordeaux is it's an early drinking wine. Most of them will be aproachable in the next year or or two.
2008 and 2009 are looking like they are going to be much better years. Representatives compared the 2009 vintage to 2005. Now, is a great opportunity to purchase futures for the 2007 and 2008 vintages at Binny's.
Please click here for information.
Darren wrote on 02/02/10 9:54 AM
When will the 2009 futures become available for purchase?