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Another tricky vintage saved at the eleventh hour by some fine weather in September….the results….somewhat patchy. It is more ‘classic’ in style and somewhere between 2004 and 2000 in structure. Like 2000, the wines will be relatively early maturing and approachable at an early age and suitable for cellaring out to the mid-term…great for those who can’t keep their hands off the wines in the cellar.

It all started well with a mild winter leading into a warm March followed by an uncharacteristically hot April. In fact April was the hottest month of the growing season and the warmest on record. This warm weather kicked the vines along rapidly with an early budburst. Estimates at the end of April suggested that the growing season was three weeks ahead of schedule, ahead of even the sweltering 2003 vintage and plans were being laid for a mid-August vintage.

The INAO set the official mandated harvest date, the ban de vendange for the 13th of August ….quite early indeed….so when a wet and mild May came along, followed by a very wet and cool June and July winegrowers were looking for some relief from the heavens. The wet, cold, overcast condition brought problems with mildew and rot and there was a constant fight to keep the vineyards in check.

Relief finally came on August 20th with a Northerly wind which kept the disease pressure down and the fine weather had returned by the end of August allowing the grapes to reach maturity just in time.

It is a very good vintage for white wines and particularly good in Chablis the best examples of which show excellent purity of fruit and the classic malic/sour tang of good Chablis on the finish. Those who sorted fastidiously did well. Value-wise the whites of St-Aubin, Savigny Les Beaune and Santenay standout and it seems to be a very good vintage in Chassagne and Puligny-Montrachet.  The white wines are tending to be pure of fruit and quite sappy but at the same time generous in flavour with good tension between fruit and acidity.

Red wines are a little more patchy with the Côte de Nuits coping better than the Côte de Beaune. The wines are on the lighter side with less extract than 2006 and certainly less depth than 2005. Like the 2000 vintage the wines will be approachable quite early on in their lives and the best examples show a lovely line of fruit and freshness on the palate. Of course, as always producer is paramount and some wines I have seen have been over extracted for the weight of fruit on offer, but as a rule of thumb, the reds display relatively medium-to-low extract and ripe tannin, a good fresh, acid backbone and pleasingly show classic Burgundian characteristics and appellation specific typicity without herbaceous or lean characters.

★★★★☆

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By Nicholas Crampton

hotel_01My first thoughts were that Carre des Arts wouldn’t be for everyone but that I found it to be an excellent experience. And then on reflection I realised that I shouldn’t make assumptions on what people are after on a French holiday and that many people would love it for the same reasons I did.

Le Carre Des Arts is quite a few things in a very tiny package – it’s a two bedroom bed and breakfast, it is a day spa and it’s also a member of that ultra hot trend – a micro restaurant at night. Yes the French version of the Tardis and all this just a claimed five minutes from Bordeaux in the small town of Bouliac. This was kind of hard to verify during Vinexpo as the five minutes probably wasn’t calculated at walking pace.

On first appearances Carre Des Arts is totally cool but incredibly non French – or at least not France how most Australians would perceive it. The feel is incredibly modern and somewhat stark, with metres of sandstone and slick furniture broken up by bamboo and wood panelling. Downstairs and out the back is definitely oriental in persuasion with statues, more bamboo and artwork everywhere.

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By Nicholas Crampton

 

A vintage report is basically the first step towards deciding whether to skew, up or down, your normal buying behaviour for that region and hence needs to be seen in the context of both alternative regions and other vintages. Individual highlights in terms of sub appellations and producers will be covered off elsewhere.

A short summary of 2007 White Burgundy is that it is a very good if not quite great vintage that is steadily gaining in reputation and edging ahead of 2007 Red Burgundy, itself on the up and up. It may not light up the various vintage charts as a classic vintage however if you like elegant wines with pronounced acidity this vintage is for you.

Discussion on the vintage will always focus on that finesse and acidity, the product of the difficult summer and a clear delineation with 2006. The delicate structure and vibrancy of the wines along with distinct appellation expression is outstanding in the best wines while a watch out in lesser wines is a lack of intensity or depth of flavour.

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