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Bordeaux 2007: Pessac-Léognan

Bordeaux 2007

En primeur

Pessac-Léognan

Although I have experience of tasting the wines of Bordeaux at this stage before, this was the first time I have travelled to Bordeaux in order to attend the primeur tastings arranged by the Union des Grands Crus and hosted by many of the châteaux of the region. The UGC tasting of Pessac-Léognan, at which many of the notes presented below were taken, was the first event of my three days in Bordeaux; I had stumbled off the airplane at Merignac just 40 minutes or so earlier. Hosted by Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, I walked through barrel rooms and vat rooms and then ascended the stairs to reach the tasting room. The staircase is arranged so that the room is behind you as you ascend; as I climbed the steps, and my ears suddenly became aware of the hubbub of busy tasters behind me I immediately knew that, whatever the quality of the wines, I was about to experience something special and very exciting.

Time was short, nevertheless I managed to look at a dozen or so wines before I and my travelling companions had to leave for our next appointment. Fortunately I was able to augment my notes with others taken on visits to Haut-Bailly and La Mission Haut-Brion (where I could also inspect some of the statuary, below), and I was able to take a second look at a couple of wines, including Domaine de Chevalier and Smith-Haut-Lafitte, during the four days of tastings. The opportunity to revisit wines is not an infrequent occurrence, it seems, and it is a valuable aspect of the tastings.

Bordeaux 2007 The wines themselves were a mixed bunch, and one proprietor confessed to me quite candidly that it was a petit millésime. Pretty soon, however, I was aware that this dismissive statement applied more to the reds than the whites, as there was a marked disparity in quality when comparing the two. There were a number of good and very good white wines, which show a lot of aromatic intensity in some cases, fresh acidity and an elegant presence on the palate. The coolness of the vintage has produced wines with less weight than recent years, certainly compared to 2006 when the wines were very good but in a richer, punchier style than 2007, but with vibrant acidity that puts the weighty and less balanced wines of warmer years such as 2005 (sadly I was not able to taste the 2007 white from Domaine de Chevalier to compare it to the fabulous 2005, one truly superb wine from that vintage) and 2003 to shame. These are good wines, and choosing between these and those from other successful vintages (to my palate) for white Graves, such as 2006 and 2004, will be simply a matter of style.

The red wines were much less favoured by the climatic conditions thrust upon the Bordelais during 2007, in this particular appellation many have produced petit vins, wines that are lighter and will drink early. This is true of appellations further north on this bank of the Garonne and Gironde. A few have made the mistake, I think of over-extracting, trying to make too much of their wine, but many are simply lesser wines without the flesh of richer vintages, with more exposed tannins and quite firm acidities. I did not develop the impression, on tasting these wines, that they would be good buys during the en primeur season. (9/4/08)

Pessac-Léognan 2007: Tasting Notes

Tasted in Bordeaux in April 2008. Click to locate stockists.

White Wines

Chateau Brown Blanc 2007: This has an attractive and very exuberant, aromatic style. Having tasted the components separately, it is the Semillon, which accounts for 35% of this blend, that has really impressed in this vintage. The blend itself is full, attractive, with lots of grip and substance. Even a touch creamy. Good structure and and fresh acidity underneath. Good. 16-17+/20

Chateau Cantelys Blanc 2007: A property owned by the Cathiards of Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Lovely grass and passion fruit aromatic profile on the nose here, showing richness and depth. Notes of white pepper. Very soft, pretty, attractive, although over a fairly firm grip. Just lacks the concentration here to match the nose. 14.5-15.5+/20

Chateau Carbonnieux Blanc 2007: An attractive nose here, with a lemon curd character from the Semillon although this only accounts for 35% of the blend, the remainder being Sauvignon Blanc. There is a fresh and vibrant style to the fruit on the palate, which has a nice weight and an appealing grip. The acidity is rather soft and it seems a little stretched out on the finish. Nevertheless there is some good substance here. 15-16+/20

Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2007: This has an elegant nose with plenty of fine aromatics and bright fruit, but there is a suggestion of depth also. A good substance and a nice grip on the finish, with rather gentle acidity. This is attractive but at this stage it is not a patch on the supremely elegant 2006. 15.5-16.5+/20

Chateau de Fieuzal Blanc 2007: This wine is not as expressive as some others on the nose, but what fruit it shows has an attractive, bright, fresh character. It has a rather sweet ripeness, and lots of substance too, with good acids underneath and a nice grip. Good potential here. 15.5-16.5+/20

Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc 2007: Alcohol 13.9%. A different style here on the nose, but still showing the oak more than anything else at present, an appealing honeycomb and gritty toffee character, with some rich although leafy fruit. The blend here is quite different to the Laville, 45% Semillon and 55% Sauvignon Blanc. The palate is lively, fleshy and supple, showing quite some weight. Nevertheless it is full of fruit complexity, richness, structure, presented a delicious, harmonious style. Vivacity too. Lots of potential here. 17.5-18.5+/20

Chateau Laville Haut-Brion 2007: Alcohol 13.6%. There is a trace of oak-fermentation on the nose, which dominates the quiet fruit, 83% Semillon and 17% Sauvignon Blanc, at present. There are some attractive primary aromas though, notes of leaf and yellow plum. The palate is fresh, with good acidity; it is supple but it has some substance too. The palate does not display the oak so predominantly, showing a mineral fruit character instead, in a vibrant, lively style. This barrel sample seems superior to the 2003 and 2004 I tasted a few months ago; I hope that comes through when finally bottled. Volumes will be smaller than usual this year; less than 500 cases. 17-18+/20

Chateau La Louvière Blanc 2007: This has a nutty nose from the oak, and is showing a good depth and even some fruit complexity even at this embryonic stage. Lovely weight on entry, great substance, broad and well structured, complete and rich in flavour. And best of all a fine seam of acidity too. This is really good, and if representative of the quality here this has fine potential. 16.5-17.5+/20

Chateau Pape-Clément Blanc 2007: A good nutty depth here, this is showing the oak at present, but more importantly there is good fruit depth as well. In fact it is rather brooding in style. A rich palate, rounded and creamy, with rather appealingly gentle acids. Rounded, weighty, impressive wine. 16.5-17.5+/20

Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc 2007: Very direct on the nose, more lively than some, expressive, with a rather flashy edge to the passion fruit and lemon curd character. Soft, full, textured, some grip, with attractive fruit. Grassy notes on the finish. Needs to flesh out a little through the midpalate. Very good though. 16-17+/20

Red Wines

Chateau Brown 2007: There is an attractive freshness to the character on the nose of this wine, which is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. A good frame of tannins, an appealing midpalate presence and overall an attractive style. Gentle substance. This compares very favourably with the rest of the big names of the appellation. 14.5-15.5+/20

Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2007: There is appealing, dark and concentrated fruit on the nose here, although with a rather hard and stony character. This is countered by lovely substance on the palate, with a gentle and composed nature. It has good depth and a rounded, creamy composition. There is a good grip to it as well. 15.5-16.5+/20

Domaine de Chevalier 2007: Two samples assessed on different days. The first seemed inexpressive, but the second had more apparent, charcoaly fruit. Fresh, elegant style on the palate, ripe tannins, complete and nicely balanced. Not a heavily stuffed wine, but there is sufficient texture. A good effort here. 15-16+/20

Chateau de Fieuzal 2007: There is red fruit on the nose, with a rather sweet and confected palate. It is also a touch rubbery which I think unusual. The palate is soft and unfocussed, with a medicinal streak marking the fruit. There is certainly individuality here, over a good texture and sweetness. There is some substance, but there are better wines. 13-14+/20

Chateau Haut-Bailly 2007: A fine presence of sweet fruit and honeyed oak here, brambly, fine and crunchy. Good substance, and with a nice weight through the midpalate. It has a fine, textured quality, with a slightly gritty fruit. Nice, gentle, but with a good substance. Nicely balanced. 15.5-16.5+/20

Chateau Haut-Brion 2007: This is dense, smoky, brooding and suggestive of depth, with a little meaty vein to the fruit on the nose. Here we have 43% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc, and 43% of the harvest so there should be 8900 cases produced. It is weightier than Le Clarence, a little plummy and fleshy, but still elegant. There is a lot of evident structure, with a supple composition laid over a core of firm tannins. A little length here. A good wine with potential, although it is not overtly expressed. 16-17+/20

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2007: This is the second wine of Haut-Brion, once Bahans de Haut-Brion but renamed Le Clarence with the 2007 vintage. As with La Chapelle below Merlot dominates, but only with 51% of the blend, the rest being 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. It accounts for 36% of the harvest. On the nose it has a light, aromatic, stony and even slightly gamey fruit. There is some nice flesh on entry, with a supple, sappy character, and it holds its own in the midpalate although there is a lot of pepper and grip exposed here. More attractive texture and flesh than the second wine of La Mission. 15-16+/20

Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 2007: The grand vin accounts for 36% of the harvest in this vintage, and there will be 4500 cases of the 2007 produced. There is more Cabernet here, 48% Sauvignon and 9% Franc, with 43% Merlot. It is tighter than La Chapelle, less expressive on the nose, showing just a little toastiness. It is full and broad, structured but elegant, perhaps rather leaner than I hoped. It has a nice character though, although there is an obvious extraction of tannins here. A wine of good potential, but not a great La Mission. 15.5-16.5+/20

La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 2007: The second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion. There is a sweet density of fruit on the nose, red-black in character, the blend dominated by Merlot which accounts for 64%, with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. Selection has been strict, with just 28% of the harvest in this wine (so much rejected completely), nevertheless it seems somewhat diffuse and has a rather savage note to it. Nevertheless, a stylish entry, balanced and showing finesse, before a firmer structure becoming apparent in the midpalate. Sweet fruit on the finish, which is firm, showing a lot of ripe tannins. Not much length. Good. 14.5-15.5+/20

Chateau Larrivet-Haut-Brion 2007: Dark plums and blackberry fruit aromatics here, with a rather sweet and creamy character. A nicely styled palate, rather delicate, with a nice acidity underneath the substance. In compares quite well with the rest of the appellation, but is not a great success otherwise. 15-16+/20

Chateau Malartic-Lagravière 2007: A nice purity and a good richness on the nose here. A lovely texture, with an attractive silky substance. It has a fine presence on the palate, a touch creamy, with good grip. Correct acidity. This has good potential. 15.5-16.5+/20

Chateau Pape-Clément 2007: A pile of sweet fruit here, lots of sweetness, and lots of oak at present. There is substance here, it is textured, and there is a pile of ripe tannins. Well structured, with a nice presence. There is a lot of everything going on here, which is fairly typical for Pape-Clément. Good. 15.5-16.5+/20

Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte 2007: Rather burnt, charry oak character here, raw and hard. Firm on the palate, a nice substance, broad, nice flesh and quite persistent. A slightly bitter charcoaly finish. Plenty of character although there is a need for this wine to come together in a more harmonious fashion in barrel. 14.5-15.5+/20