en primeur > Bordeaux 2007 > vintage report
Vintage Report
Bordeaux 2007
View the wines already released.
Register for Bibendum's Bordeaux 2007 offer here.
We Know Because We Go
As usual team Bibendum spent a week in Bordeaux in early April, tasting around 300 wines and speaking to the people who matter: the men and women who make the wine. You can read all about it on the Bibendum blog. It was a very intriguing trip and we found some fantastic wines that we look forward to offering in the coming months.
The Lowdown on 2007
- An inconsistent year with some highs and some lows
- The best wines are the ones that have respected the nature of the vintage and tried not to extract too much from the wines. They are elegant, fresh and, above all, natural wines.
- Generalisations are difficult. Pessac-Leognan, Pomerol and Sauternes offer the most consistency
- We tasted good wines at all levels and in all communes - it was just a case of separating the wheat from the chaff. There are plenty of good wines to go round, though.
- Call us with your wish lists on 020 7449 4120 or email sales@bibendum-wine.co.uk
- Keep checking this website for all the price updates and the latest news as the chateaux release their wines
Hear Anthony Barton's view of the vintage here
The Barometer of a Vintage
We spent our last two nights in Bordeaux in an old chateau just outside Pomerol. On the wall outside the kitchen was an antique barometer with one arrow pointing straight at 'Variable'. It seemed to sum up the 2007 vintage really rather neatly.
The wines are inconsistent, but variable means just that - some good, some not. This is not a vintage to write off in its entirety, just because the headline writers have declared it to be an 'off-year'.
It may go down in history the Vintage of the Year, rather than the Vintage of the Century, but buyers who tread carefully, take good advice and enjoy wines that have a fresh, perfumed elegance will find much to their taste in 2007.
A Bit About Pricing
Pricing was the big talking point in Bordeaux when the world of wine descended on the Gironde to taste and talk business. Those, like the UK and the US, outside the Euro Zone were the most concerned. The strength of the Euro against the Pound and the Dollar means that the wines could look very expensive on release. We made a case whenever we spoke to a producer to take this in to account when they set their prices over the next few months.
Many acknowledged and respected this position, and also know that the vintage is not as strong as it was in 2005 and 2006. We hope that this will mean a significant reduction in release prices but that remains to be seen. Watch this space.
Unlucky 7? Not Quite.
One of the most simplistic analogies being drawn with 2007 is comparing the wines to 1997 and 1987 - both less than stellar years and both ending in 7. But that is as far as the analogy goes for one very good reason: Bordeaux makes much, much better wines than it did ten years ago, let alone twenty.
The last decade has seen huge technical advances and understanding in both the vineyard and cellar, and Bordeaux has been at the forefront of many of them. The days of truly off vintages to be avoided at all costs are long gone. Bordeaux has some of the world's finest winemakers and they are capable of making good to very good wines whatever the weather.
Bibendum's Picks
Team Bibendum tasted around 300 wines when we were in Bordeaux in early April and here is a selection of the wines we felt really made the grade in 2007. The first fifteen have been chosen, purely on a quality basis. The final five are what we hope will be the bargains of the vintage.
The First XV (in alphabetical order)
Ausone
Calon Segur
La Conseillante
Haut Bailly
Lafite
Latour
Leoville Barton
Palmer
Pichon-Longueville Baron
Le Pin
Pontet-Canet
Rieussec
Smith Haut Lafitte (white and red)
Suduiraut
Vieux Chateau Certan
The Value for Money List
Beychevelle (St Julien)
Fonbel (St Emilion)
Haut-Batailley (Pauillac)
Picque Caillou Red and White (Pessac-Leognan)
Siaurac (Lalande de Pomerol)