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Burgundy Wine
December 2008
Surely one of the most complex regions to understand but the rewards are always worth the effort. Burgundy wine perfectly encapsulates why France’ s winemakers so frequently refer to “terroir”. Almost all the region’s wines are made from either Chardonnay (white) or Pinot Noir (red) grapes and yet the variation in taste (and cost!) is incredible. In Burgundy wine it is not just a case of seeking out the well-recognised names like Chassagne Montrachet, Chambertin or Meursault; it is equally important to buy only from the great growers who have a reputation for producing all that is finest in the region.
David Round, Master of Wine (of which there are only 273 in the world today) has recently completed his tour of the region tasting the 2007 vintage from barrels at many Domaines. Below are his thoughts on how the vintage is turning out:
Burgundy Wine 2007 Vintage Report
It was with keen anticipation that we headed to Burgundy this November for our first taste of the 2007 vintage. It was a week full of pleasant surprises. Our first stop was at Saint-Aubin’s finest estate Domaine Lamy, where Olivier waited until September 9th to pick. He described his white wines as having the energy of 2001 and the body of 2002. They were certainly beautifully balanced, fresh and mineral in character. At Domaine Pillot in Chassagne-Montrachet, Thierry described 2007 as “a classic vintage for whites, with good acidity and purity, which will age well. The wines have minerality, acidity and energy”. In Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Louis Carillon is always a highlight of the trip, and the wines were particularly pure and elegant. Jacques Carillon, always modest and restrained in his assessment of his own wines, compared them with the 2004 vintage but with more richness. In Meursault, Patrick Javillier’s wines were restrained and very well balanced. He spoke of 2007 as “a return to classic Burgundy, pure and focussed, a littl e like 2004, a cross between 1984 and 1990”. At the peerless Chandon de Briailles in Savigny-Lès-Beaune, Claude Drouhin, who has always liked the 2007 whites for their nice fruit and balance, is astonished by how well the reds have turned out: “they have freshness, energy and tannic structure, showing classic Burgundian style”. We agreed on everything except for the tannic structure, as the wines seemed very refined and soft, as they always are at this domaine. We visited two properties in Nuits-St-Georges. At the first, Domaine Henri Gouges, they were very careful not to extract too much tannin from the grapes, enabling them to make wines that Gregory Gouges accurately described as “accessible, easy drinking”. At Domaine Robert Chevillon, the wines showed that familiar ethereal fruit and flesh for which they are renowned, and Bertrand compared the wines to the 2000 vintage, with their approachable red fruit.
A few miles further north in Gevrey-Chambertin, we reached what was to be the climax of our trip. Pierre Damoy confidently claimed that 2007 was his best vintage yet, and our first taste of his Chapelle-Chambertin was enough to douse the flames of any scepticism we may have had. Finally, Sylvie Esmonin showed us a range of wines to re-awaken our tiring palates. She didn’t seek to play down the challenges that Nature had thrown at her in the summer of 2007, but neither did she play down her sense of achievement at triumphing over such difficulties.
Summary
White Burgundy wine vintages usually fall into two broad categories of style: some are rich, broad, dense and early-drinking, while others are fresh, mineral, highly individualistic and long-lived – a style that will not be seen anywhere else in the world. The 2007s belong firmly to th e latter group, showing good ripeness balanced with fine acidity and fresh, citrus fruit. Although they will be attractive at a young age, they will evolve beautifully over a number of years into wines of great harmony, complexity and balance.
The reds, meanwhile, are rounded, fruity, early-drinking wines that are perfect expressions of the Pinot Noir grape. 2007 for red wines will not go down in history as a great vintage, but it will find a lot of friends amongst those that love the region’s wines. It will also be a perfect vintage for those waiting for the 2005 and 2006 reds to be ready for drinking.
If you would like to hear more about how you can buy into vintages at the best prices please contact the Fine Wine team on 020 7232 5440 or e-mail us at sales@bancroftwines.com
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