2007

Excerpts from Sarah Marsh’s Burgundy Briefing, Issue 10, Winter 2008/2009

Whites

The conditions of 2007 were unprecedented. It was the hottest April on record and the conditions provoked bud break six weeks earlier than normal and a precocious flowering. If the summer had been normal the vines would have been on track for a mid to later August harvest, but cool and rainy weather followed from mid May through June and July. The grapes were not ready in August and in the nick of time the weather improved.

The 2007 whites are pure and mineral with very nice acidity. It is fresher than 2006 withless grass, but more lively fruit. Because the fruit is very pure and lemony, not rich, there is a transparency to the terroir. It is not strong white like 2006, or rich white like 2005, but dancing mineral light white. The style ranges from the more austere, more like 2004 from earlier picked vines, to a riper mineral style from the later picked vines.

Dominic Lafon says “Freshness is the key quality of the 2007 vintage, but you had to pick ripe or the freshness was greenness. The red tastes like a warm year and the whites taste like a cool year.”

Reds

Yields were dramatically reduced to between 20 and 40% of the average. Roumier estimated it to be 25% less than the small 2006 vintage. In 2007 the elements of the palate are in harmony. The long cool season produced lighter wines, which are transparent to the terroir. The minerality is open and rather joyously expressed through the wine. It is not hidden by the fruit, but released by it.

The style lies within the parameter of a classic Burgundian vintage. Lighter in body, soft tannin, very fresh without having high acidity. This is Pinot as its most subtle and elegant. It is all about fragrance and texture. The rose petal scent, pure summer fruit, soft tannins and texture.

Christophe Roumier says “Charm, supple and for me one of my favourite type of vintage.”