Vintage Report & Recommendations

Burgundy 2007 - A Vintage of Fruit, Purity and Elegance

It can be nerve racking to see how a vintage will ultimately turn out.We had been in Burgundy in July to taste through many of the whites, so we knew that they were fantastically mineral, fresh and pure – wonderful wines of beauty and precision. But what about the reds? So, we ventured deep into the cellars with a certain amount of scepticism.

We had heard some positive things about the vintage, but we were not prepared for the remarkable quality of these wines…and we were gobsmacked. Even Johnny Goedhuis who has been visiting Burgundy to taste En Primeur since 1980 has never been so surprised by the quality of a vintage. They all showed intense fruity sweetness or as the French say, ‘sucrosité’.We could not have been more impressed. Many wines will deliver lots of pleasure early on. Luckily, they also have the concentration to age – the best of both worlds really.

There is such interest in Burgundy that demand is far less touched by economic conditions and recessions. This can no doubt be attributed to the region’s ‘it’ factor as well as its scarcity. Collectors also tend to buy them to drink rather than for reselling, so if you don’t buy En Primeur, it is often impossible to find them in the marketplace.

The Wines

Due to the long growing season and temperate Indian summer,the grapes attained excellent ripeness. Hence, there are no herbaceous flavours that can creep up in challenging years. Just pure succulent fruit and cleansing minerality shine through. The cool nights also enabled the grapes to retain their freshness, so all-in-all, they are very balanced wines. Many growers described the wines as ‘energised’ and as ‘reflecting the true terroir’. The reds are just delicious and superbly ‘pinoté’.

The 2007 whites are possibly the antithesis of 2006, a lush and hedonistic year. The 2007 will be the purist’s delight. They are finely tuned, very elegant and laden with chiselled minerality. Unlike the 2006s which revealed copious amounts of tropical fruit, the 2007s deliver lots of zesty citrus and crunchy orchard fruits. They are superbly refreshing, thirst quenching and should age beautifully.

For the reds, some growers commented that they will be early drinking but will still keep well. Yet others, such as Rousseau, feel that they have more concentration than other vintages such as 2006 and will actually keep longer. Many growers believe that they are richer than the 2004s and have compared the vintage to a combination of 2000 (for the fruit quality) and 2001 (for their ‘terroir’- rich purity). Some think that there is a touch of 1997 in them for their overt friendliness and opulence; while other growers such as Ghislaine Barthod compare their sturdy richness to 1993.

Quantities were generally similar to 2006 (which were noticeably lower than 2005). Some growers, however, experienced a more challenging growing season and as a result produced 20% - 40% less due to their stringent selection in the vineyards.