The Bordeaux wien Experience Bordeaux Vintage notes
The Bordeaux First Growths 2007, my verdict
Last month I gave you my impressions of the tasting organized by the Union of the Grands Crus Classés, the UGCB. I told you that 2007 is a difficult year with a lighter structure and an elegance more than power. At the tastings Margaret and I both found a huge difference in quality, even within appellations.
But we hadn't tasted the First Growths yet, so in late April we went back up into the Medoc for a day of tasting the First Growths of the Medoc
So here we go:
 Ronald tasting the 2007 with Dominique Garcia, the Sommelier of Mouton Rothschild |
We started the day at Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Here we were welcomed by Dominique Garcia, the chateau's sommelier. We tasted the second wine, Le Petit Mouton and the Mouton Rothschild and finished by the white wine, the Aile d'Argent. As a special treat we re-tasted the Petit Mouton as well as the Mouton Rothschild 2006.
Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild (17.5 points).
(the second wine of the property)
A dark and intense color. A beautiful very complex nose with overwhelming fruit and nice peppery tones, usually typical for its big brother Mouton. The best Petit Mouton I have ever tasted.
Mouton Rothschild (18.5 points). A beautiful intense black in color with purple tints. A complex nose displaying expressive black (blackcurrant) fruits and typical peppery hints in the nose. On the palate, the wine has a fleshy strong mouth feel. Beautiful round velvety tannins for a wine that is a little lighter in taste and structure than usual. Forest fruits, blueberry and hints of coffee. A wine more for the elegance and finesse than on power and concentration. For me this Mouton 2007 is the winner of the vintage of First Growths!
Aile d'Argent, the white wine of Mouton Rothschild (18 points). A light pale color. The nose is an explosion of fruits. A complex and nervous and very good wine. Remember, this wine is "just a simple appellation Bordeaux". In the mouth it is an absolute fruit basket with all sorts of citrus fruit, pineapple and other aromas we usually find in sweet wines although this wine is certainly not sweet. Delicious!
 Margaret tasting the Latour 2007 with Stéphanie Mazet at Latour |
Our next stop was at Chateau Latour. Here we tasted the three wines produced at this property. The Chateau Latour, Grand Vin, the second wine: Les Forts de Latour and the wine I usually consider as the second wine of the second wine: Le Pauillac de Latour.
Le Pauillac de Latour (15.5 points). Light color with little depth. Very closed on the nose, some hints of spices. Strong (green?) tannins with a lack of elegance and complexity. Rather short.
Les Forts de Latour (16.5 points). More color than the Pauillac but still lighter than usual. Almost no nose. Much more and rounder tannins and more interesting than the Pauillac.
Chateau Latour, Grand Vin (17.5 points). Darker than the Les Forts but still less dark than usual. Even the Grand vin was very closed on the nose. I had the feeling these wines were not tasting well at this point. The Latour had pleasant spices and some hints of laurel. Nice fruit. Although it was much longer than the second wine, it lacked some of the usual longness of a great Latour in other vintages.
These baby wines sometimes close up for a certain period of time. Definitely a wine I want to re-taste at a later moment in time.
After a lovely lunch in The Saint Julien restaurant, always a favorite on our tours, (I know it is a tough job, but somebody has to do it) we tasted at:
 Ronald tasting the Lafite 2007 with Francis Perez, the Cellar Master of Lafite Rothschild |
Our host at Lafite Rothschild was the man responsible for the making of this great wine: Francis Perez, the cellar master of this First Growth.
Monsieur Perez prepared a tasting of the second wine: Les Carruades de Lafite followed by Chateau Duhart Milon, a Forth Growth owned by the Rothschild family. Of course we ended our tasting with the Grand Vin Lafite Rothschild.
Carruades de Lafite (16 points). Medium light color, rather closed on the nose but some nice notes of cherry. Fine concentration with hints of laurel. Pleasant fresh wine with a good balance in the acidity.
Chateau Duhart Milon (16.5 points). Deep purple color, rather closed on the nose. Slightly green tannins and less balance, a rather keen acidity.
Lafite Rothschild Grand Vin (18 points). Extremely deep purple colored wine. A very expressive nose displaying violets and a lot of fruit. Nice soft tannins with a good presence but without dominating the wine. Stays very long in the mouth.
 Margaret (L) tasting the Chateau Margaux 2007 with the ever charming and knowledgeable Gunvor Bizard (R) and her new assistant Marie Meunier (M) |
The last tasting of the day was at Chateau Margaux.We were supposed to be received by Paul Pontallier, the Directeur Général, the general director. Monsieur Pontallier prefers to present a newborn vintage himself. Unfortunately there was a last minute change of plans so he couldn't welcome us. We were received by the ever charming and very knowledgeable Gunvor Bizard and we got to meet her new and very pleasant assistant Marie Meunier. We tasted the second wine of the property the Pavilon Rouge de Chateau Margaux followed by the Chateau Margaux Grand Vin. And we tasted another "simple appellation Bordeaux" Le Pavillon Blanc de Chateau Margaux.
Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margaux (16.5 points). Light, medium intensive color and a rather closed nose with some hints of fruit. In the mouth an array of fruits and some licorice.
Chateau Margaux (18 points). Light purple color and a rather closed nose with some hints of red fruit. A well balanced fruity wine with hints of coffee, laurel, leather and some spices. A good acidity and a nice structure.
Pavillon Blanc de Chateau Margaux (17 points). 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Very light golden colored wine. Very pleasant fresh nose. An agreeable complexity with nice tones of citrus fruit and some lychees. Not too dry.
 Margaret (R) with Laetitia at Chateau Haut Brion |
Early May, to complete the First Growths, we tasted at Chateau Haut Brion. Laetitia Dubos led us into the tasting room. Here we started our tasting with another property: the La Mission Haut-Brion (both their first and second wines). We continued with the second and the first wine of Chateau Haut Brion. At these tastings you serve the wines in the opposite order to when you drink them with a meal. At a dinner party you would start with the whites and then go on to red. At wine tastings the whites are tasted after the reds. We therefore continued our tasting with the delicious white wine: Chateau Laville Haut-Brion and the very impressive Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc, a very rare wine as there are only 2,8 ha (6.9 acres) of whites at Haut Brion.
Red Wines
 Ronald "at work", tasting the Haut-Brion 2007 |
La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion (16.5 points), the second wine of La Mission Haut Brion)
A nice purple color, somewhat closed on the nose. Combines hints of laurel with a good acidity and good fruit tones.
Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion (18 points)
Medium purple color. More open on the nose than La Chapelle with hints of coffee, tobacco and leather. It's beautiful balance combines velvety (cherry) fruit tones with a surprising freshness. Very long finish.
Le Clarence de Haut Brion (17 points), the second wine of Chateau Haut Brion (the name has changed; it used to be called Bahans Haut Brion)
Medium purple color. Beautiful complex nose with lots and lots of fruit and hints of strawberries and cherries. Licorice and velvety round tannins.
Chateau Haut-Brion (18.5 points)
A dense purple color. Impressive complex nose with spicy, smoky and cherry aromas. Beautiful soft tannins .A long staying wine with a very good balance.
White wines
 Haut-Brion white, one of the winners of the vintage! |
Chateau Laville Haut-Brion
(19 points)
Beautiful complex nose with loads and loads of (citrus and tropical) fruit on the nose: lemon, orange, pineapple, peach, it just goes on. Delicious and very good. Hints of very rich sweetness (honey?) very rich.
Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc
(19 points)
Amazing complex nose that smells like? Like everything you would want in a beautiful white wine. Beautiful fresh acidity. Tropical and citrus fruit displaying papaya, pineapple, peach, lemon and some hints of oak and honey. Great balance and freshness. A wine that stays in the mouth for a very long time. Delicious.
The Bordeaux vintage 2007 (other than First Growths), my verdict
Many things have changed in Bordeaux. In the old days difficult year used to produce wines that never seemed to come around. Nowadays with all our knowledge, strong selections, lower yields and second wines Bordeaux proves it can make good wines in more difficult vintages.
In the first week of April everybody with something to say about Bordeaux descended on the region for the Futures Tastings of the new vintage, traditionally organized by the UGCB, the Union des Grand Crus Classés de Bordeaux.
We were all curious how the vintage would be because 2007 is by no means on the same level of 2005. Even Bordeaux can't produce blockbuster vintages every year.
The 2007 is a difficult year with a lighter structure and an elegance more than power. At the tastings Margaret and I both found a huge difference in quality, even within appellations. When they are properly made, the 2007 are very pleasant with a good balance and not too heavy.
 Ronald and Margaret tasting the 2007 at Chateau Latour Carnet |
When they are NOT properly made, they can be disappointing and sometimes even mediocre. They are in general wines that will be appreciated in their relative youth and are wines with a lesser ageing potential. This is not a bad thing as we also want wines that are drinkable before we turn 60...
I am by no means Robert Parker but like every year I will give you my opinion on some of the wines I tasted. For this I use the French 20 points scale, where 20 is the highest rating possible. (vintage notes).
In the next issue of our Newsletter I hope to give my opinion on the First Growths of 2007. You can subscribe to our Newsletter here: 
Tasted at Pontet-Canet, Latour Carnet and at Lascombes |
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| Those we liked (left bank) (2007) | Those we liked less (left bank) (2007) | ||
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18 16 16 18 18 17 15 15 17 16 15 18 17 16 15 15 17 18 16 15 15 15 15 |
Camensac, Haut Medoc, 5th Growth Cantemerle, Haut Medoc, 5th Growth La Lagune, Haut Medoc, 3th Growth La Tour de By, Medoc Cru Bourgeois Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux, 2nd Growth Lascombes, Margaux, 2nd Growth Malescot St-Exupery, Margx 3th Gr Langoa Barton, St Julien 3th Growth Saint Pierre, St Julien 4th Gr Talbot, Saint Julien 4th Growth Clerc-Milon, Pauillac, 5th Growth Croizet-Bages, Pauillac, 5th growth Grand-Puy Ducasse , Pauillac, 5th Gr Haut Bages Libéral , Pauillac, 5th Gr Lynch Moussas, Pauillac 5nd Growth Lafon-Rochet, St Estèphe, 4th Growth |
14 14 10 13 13 14 11 14 14 10 13 11 11 13 14 12 |
Right bank vintage 2007
Tasted at Ch la Couspade, Ch Fombrauge, Ch Laroze and Petit Village |
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| Those we liked (right bank) (2007) | Those we liked less (right bank) (2007) | ||
Saint Emilion Pomerol |
18 16 17 18 16 16 16 15 15 16 17 17 16 15 18 18 16 16 |
Saint Emilion |
14
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Pessac-Léognan vintage 2007
Tasted at Chateau Larrivet-Haut Brion (2007) |
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| Those we liked (Pessac-Léognan) | Those we liked less (Pessac-Léognan) | ||
|
15 15 15 16 18,5 16 16 |
|
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Sauternes Barsac vintage 2007
Tasted at Chateau Desmirail (2007) |
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| Those we liked (Sauternes Barsac) | Those we liked less (Sauternes Barsac) | ||
|
15 18 |
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Bordeaux vintage 2006: in between 2004 and 2005
.jpg)
| Ronald tasting the impressive 2006 Cheval Blanc with Cheval Blanc technical director Dr. Kees van Leeuwen |
And tasting the elegant 2006 Angélus with Jean-Bernard Grenié of Chateau Angélus |
Let's start with an easy judgment. 2006 is NOT like 2005. The first reason is of course all vintages are different in Bordeaux. The second reason is as easy as the first. We have been hearing so much about this once-in-a-lifetime vintage 2005 that the following vintage by definition never can be as good.
That is what we thought after 1985 and then came the even better 1986 vintage. 2006 was developing into that direction but, unfortunately, it didn't happen. 
The rains came too early. 2005 is a "no brainer", they are all good or excellent; it is just nature doing its work. 2006 is much more a wine maker's year. Those who did everything as they should, produced top wines, some of which might even compete with 2005. Others produced disappointing wines.
The weather was so good early April
that we took the convertible to go to the tastings
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| Margaret tasting the 2006 Chateaul Laniote with owner and winemaker Florence de la Fiolie of Chateau Laniote | Ronald tasting the Figéac 2006 with Thierry Manoncourt, owner of Chateau Figéac |
2006 is often compared with 2004 but I do not agree.The Vintage 2004 is not so much an exceptional year but is still a beautiful year. A classic Bordeaux around the board with generally a decent quality. The vintage 2006 has the entire spectrum: from exceptional to mediocre. Style-wise the 2006's are far more tannic and have less concentration than the 2005's, and are less charming than the 2004's. However, overall, 2006 is a slightly better vintage than 2004. Before you start buying futures on this vintage you need to wait for two things: the Robert Parker tasting notes and of course the prices. I am afraid the chateaux will not be very reasonable with their prices. The other day I have bought all the 2004 I could lay my hands on. Reasonably priced, good classic vintage and of course two years older (so two years less to wait for them to come around...)
Our verdict
We have attended to the professional futures tastings. Like I said earlier, I am by no means Robert Parker but still Margaret and I have have rated the wines we have tasted on a 20 point scale. 0 being very bad and 20 points being exceptional.
Left Bank vintage 2006
Tasted at Chateau Camensac and at Chateau Talbot |
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| Those we liked (left bank) 2006 | Those we liked less (left bank) 2006 | ||
Belgrave, Haut Medoc, 5th Growth: |
18 16 16 17 18 18 17 17 16 18 18 17 17 16 16 17 17 16 16 |
Camensac, Haut Medoc, 5th Growth La Tour Carnet, Haut Medoc, 4th Gr Maucaillou, Moulis Gruaud Larose, St Julien 2th Growth Lynch-Bages, Pauillac 5nd Growth Lynch Moussas, Pauillac 5nd Growth Pontet Canet, Pauillac 5nd Growth Cantenac Brown, Margaux, 3th Gr Rauzan-Gassies, Margaux, 2nd Gr Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux, 2nd Growth Lascombes, Margaux, 2nd Growth Du Tertre, Margaux, 5th Growth |
12 10 14 12 14 12 15 14 12 14 13 15 |
Right bank vintage 2006
Tasted at Chateau Soutard, Chateau Beauregard and at Chateau Cheval Blanc |
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| Those we liked (right bank) 2006 | Those we liked less (right bank) 2006 | ||
Angélus Pomerol |
19 18 16 18 16 18 16 16 17 19 16 16 19 16 16 |
Balestard de la Tonelle
Pomerol |
12
14 |
| Chateau Cheval Blanc received The Bordeaux Wine Experience for the tasting of their excellent 2006 | Margaret discusses the vintage with a Bordeaux Wine Broker in the private gardens behind Cheval Blanc |
For our experience and comments on the 2005 vintage, please see our newsletter archive by clicking here.
The Bordeaux Wine Experience and the vintage 2004
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Château Latour
First Growth Pauillac:
This spring we participated in the traditional barrel tasting's of the classified growths of the Médoc. On this page you can find comments on this vintage and some images from the Chateaux.
Weather conditions (Rainfall and temperatures)
Whereas the yearly rainfall corresponded to the average of the last thirty years, about 900 mm, 2004 was memorable for the unevenness of rainfall distribution during the vegetative cycle.
2004 was characterized by alternate wet and dry hot periods at the beginning of summer. These contributed to the development of powdery mildew, which, for the region was a nearly forgotten parasitic fungus.
Two different weather patterns dominated during 2004
- firstly, periods of above-average rainfall in October, January, May and August (each month reaching more than 180% of the average monthly around of rainfall)
- secondly periods of below-average rainfall in December, February, March, and especially in June and September with a sum of rainfall that hardly exceeded 30% of the local average.
Phenological stages
By March bud burst had occurred, the result of daily high temperature between 18 and 26°C. By the beginning of April, all the grapes varieties had opened, in spite of a temperature drop during the first ten days of the month. Signs of water deficit began to appear but rainfall in May re hydrated the soils, and the vine developed normally.
From mid-May on, the average temperature had reached nearly 20°C, allowing the development of both leaves and clusters, which appeared to number higher than in 2002 or 2003.
In spite of a rain storm May 3 1 St (22mm), the second ten days of this month turned in a dry period which would last until the first days of July. During this period, thanks to high temperatures, vine development accelerated and by May 25th, the first Merlot flowers were observed. Flowers for Cabernet Sauvignon were not long in coming, and thanks to good weather conditions, blooming was nearly completed June 1st.
July was a sunny month, notwithstanding a few stormy spells that cooled the atmosphere.
The hot dry weather that continued through mid-summer brought on the beginning of veraison, or color change in the first Merlot berries July 2Oth.
Veraison was then slowed down in early August as a period of rainy, cool weather set in. This slowdown was probably accentuated the high number of cluster per vine stock. So, to preserve the quality potential of the vintage, Chateau Latour kept on carefully thinning the harvest.
In September, sunny weather returned, with registered maximum temperatures over 25°C for over 20 days! This fine weather included only 6 days of ram, for a rainfall deficit of 46 mm.
The entire harvest of the Cabernet Sauvignon occurred during the beginning of October, with days marked by cold, lashing rains. Fortunately, this did not lead to the development of Botrytis cinerea, due both to low temperatures and a good level of berry acidity.
Harvest
The first results of ripening monitoring confirmed yield assessments and indicated a harvest that would be well balanced in sugar and acidity. However, the Merlots were still improving in fruitiness, purity and subtlety so we decided to wait for optimal ripeness. Weather conditions were perfect for optimal berry maturation, with a great difference between day and night time temperatures.
From September 23 to September 30, we picked the Merlots, at a potential alcohol content between 12.8 and 14°.
The Cabernet Sauvignon harvest was postponed until October 7th so as to obtain berries at a stage of complex maturity, with tight, rich tannins.
Picking ended on October 1 9th: the 2004 harvest had become one of the lengthiest in the history of the Latour estate.
First tasting notes of the Chateau Latour 2004.
2004 announced the return to a classic wine, characterized by a full-bodied, fresh and lively style and a precise, solid structure.
Carried by a great-fleshed body, the very concentrated fruit aromas already offer distilled purity and liveliness. The very long, silky finish is supported by well-rounded tannins. The chemical balance of the wine is impressive. 2004 shows a higher potential for tannin content than 2000, what's more, a good level of acidity gives an appealing freshness to the wine, contributing to the balance.
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Château Haut-Brion
First Growth Pessac-Léognan (Graves)
Here you will find the notes of Robert de Luxembourg of Haut-Brion
Dear Visitor,
I am in no position to comment on the vintage as a whole, but having just spent the good part of a week in Bordeaux tasting our wines with many professionals from the trade and press I feel very comfortable sharing some of my thoughts concerning the 2004 vintage for the Domaine Clarence Dillon family of wines.
Classic! This was a word that surfaced often during my discussions and echoed my feelings concerning these wines. I hope that the consumer will forgive us for using such a general term, but when you discover the 2003s you will understand why so many of the tasters use this term "classic". These wonderful wines which hailed from this very hot summer were not in any way typical. The 2003s are wines that were and remain atypical…a great concentration of fruit still shrouded in a diaphanous veil of ripe tannins.
Our team in Bordeaux believes that the 2004 reds are close in style to our 95s and 98s and that the quality is situated between these vintages and the mythical 2000s. Having recently tasted the 2004s again, I would agree. So after the rather original 2003s you will have to forgive us for using and abusing the term "classic".
Whereas certain people had a hard time understanding the 2003s and predicting their evolution, this will not be the case for our 2004s. They are a pleasure to taste at this stage and will age well, taking their place alongside some of the greatest vintages produced by us in the last few decades.
Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion and Chateau Haut-Brion naturally stand out, but I believe that we have produced one of the best Chapelle's and La Tour Haut-Brion for some time. The Bahans is always too good! (Do not worry; my jibes fall on deaf ears with our wine making team).
Concerning the white wines. Although these do not have the power and concentration of the 2003s they seem to make up for this in elegance.
Now it remains to be seen how these wines will be presented to the outside world. Many people came to Bordeaux looking for a decent but lesser quality vintage which would fit what they see to be an uncertain economic context. Certain themes and threads appeared in discussions: Bordeaux has had 6 successive good vintages. How should one describe this new born after singing the praises of this region for so long? Apparently the production/quantity was back to normal after two small crops this surely means reduced quality?
So, I must apologize for the fact that we will have let many people down by yet again producing great wines at our estates. I hope that you will understand that producing a normal yield does not (as many will have you believe) mean sub standard wines. Ever since we introduced green harvesting at our estates in 1989 we have voluntarily reduced the crop size to below 60 hl/hectare on our densely planted parcels (8000-10000 vines per hectare). It is a fact that some of our most successful vintages such as 89 and 95 were also some of the most prolific. Such is the prerogative of a great terroir!
Now that we have done all we can to put our best foot forward and present our most recent vintage we will see if the professionals who visited us will be courageous enough to recognize the unquestionable quality of these wines.
We have not yet decided if we will be grading the tasters of our wines on a scale of 1-20 or out of 100! Maybe we will adapt this to their individual rating methods…..
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for visiting our site and for giving us the opportunity of sharing some thoughts concerning our 2004s.
With all of my best wishes,
Robert de Luxembourg
April 12th 2005
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Château Prieuré-Lichine
fourth Growth Margaux
2004: Totally Margaux
2004 will be a textbook year: Flowering in June, late and mixed veraison (August 15), slow but tasty maturation.
Once again, that was the secret of the vintage: no haste, no greed. As always, the quality of the fruit determines the quality of the wine.
Harvest started on September 30, (last day of the harvesting 20030 and ended three weeks later, on October 20.
Vinification started 3 days after cold maceration, and the first pumping over operations: three to four times daily, followed by a slow reduction until the last of the sugars were fermented.
Long to very long vatting time (25 to 30 days), combined with total maturity ensured optimal tannin extraction. The aging of the wines will not break with the philosophy of Prieuré-Lichine. The wines have been in barrels since November and the various batches will be kept separately until bottling: a Cabernet from Arsac is not matured like a Merlot from Soussans: only the precision of all operations will guarantee the final quality.
At this moment the wines are powerful, racy sappy and harmonious. The Merlots are bursting with fruity aroma and the Cabernets have that “special little extra something” of the greatest Médoc Cabernets. The legendary elegance of Margaux is combined with the power of the Médoc Cabernets.
Is the vintage 2004 destined to become a classic?
Only time will tell.
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