2007 Red Burgundy

2007 was a fairly miserable summer but with two crucial saving graces: an astonishingly fine April which gave the vines a really healthy start to the year, and a fine, cool dry September which enabled the harvest to take place in good conditions. It was the earliest harvest for very many years, excepting the unusually hot 2003 vintage.

A few storms early in the summer resulted in hail damage but most vineyards resisted remarkably well. Because the flowering was so early, many growers counted the regulation 100 days from this point and began.picking before the end of August. However the grapes needed more time for flavour ripeness to develop.

Picking began in earnest on Monday 27th but the busiest week of harvesting was from Monday 3rd September, in decent conditions. How the early pickers must have regretted their decision when they saw what the following week brought: a cool drying wind and fresh sunny skies. It is standard practice now to eliminate unhealthy bunches of grapes before they go into the vats but the rain in July and August made this more of an issue than usual and the extensive de-selection has reduced the quantity of wine available.

Purity is a characteristic of the 2007 red wines. The flavours are fruity and ripe with very pretty aromatics, frequently in a cherry or raspberry register. Some have a crunchy minerality while others are softer and rounder and their ageing potential is completely guided by the house style. Some are evidently for early enjoyment, but one as wise as the great Michel Lafarge is convinced of their ageing potential.