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WHAT´S NEW ? |
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| | 2007 Primum Familiae Vini Vintage Reports,
| | France
Château Mouton Rothschild – Pauillac (Bordeaux)
Contrasting weather was the hallmark of 2007: a mild winter was followed by a lovely spring, causing the vines to flower early, then an indifferent summer, made up for by an exceptional late season.
Temperatures over the year remained broadly within the usual average, but rainfall was particularly irregular. Wet weather in May and August contrasted with drought in April, September and October. The overall level of rainfall was slightly lower than the seasonal average.
Under these conditions, the vine cycle was longer than normal; however, an exceptionally sunny September enabled the grapes to reach full maturity.
At Mouton, the harvest began on 26 September for the Merlot and ended on 11 October for the Cabernet Sauvignon.
2007 was thus a rather paradoxical year, since the vegetation cycle started early but harvesting took place late.
The wines, before blending, are deeply coloured, very fresh and well-structured, with intense fruit. They hold out the prospect of a vintage with ageing potential, in the style of the great classic clarets.
Pol Roger – Epernay (Champagne)
2007 could have been the earliest harvest in our history.
The flowering started early may and which could have gave us a harvest starting mid of August. The very rainy summer changed this date to end of August.
The good weather came back around the august 24th to dry up and give maturity.
At the end it gave us healthy grape with a quite good level of acidity.
Some producer will certainly declare 2007 as a vintage,
Nevertheless POL ROGER will not.
A lack of body with a ripeness which has been too fast and too late, gave a grape without real personality and so gave us some "vin clair" under our own standard.
2007 will give us a good Brut Reserve, Rich or Pure (our new baby for those who do not know yet)
Joseph Drouhin – Beaune (Burgundy)
A year full of contrasts, ending on a nice note.
The least one can say is that 2007 was somewhat mixed-up in term of seasons.
The weather was subject to different moods. Unstable conditions were in fact the recurring theme throughout the year.
The first three months of 2007 were on the whole very mild with temperatures higher than normal by 2 degrees C. April was much warmer than usual.
May on the other hand was humid and mild, followed by a very stormy June.
July and August were cool and wet but September turned out to be the great savior for Burgundy, thanks to plentiful sunshine.
Picking, already expected to be early, started at the very beginning of September under ideal conditions: dry, windy, sunny days under a luminous sky.
The crop is smaller than for 2006 and is actually one of the smallest in the last 10 years.
Our first tasting notes prove that the wines are very typical of their geographical origin. Chablis for instance is very mineral in character, almost briny. The whites of Côte d’Or and Côte Châlonnaise are floral and show a good texture.
As for the reds of Côte de Nuits, the wines have a fine structure. The reds of Côte de Beaune are elegant, very fruity and with more acidity than in 2006, a sure sign of slow maturation.
As a whole, 2007 gives us satisfaction: in all probability, these wines should be consumed after the 2006’s, but before the 2005’s.
Perrin & Fils – Orange (Rhone Valley)
The Beginning of the year was peculiar because of a record of days with temperature above zero fasting the vegetal rhythm of the vines. April was very warm, while July brought many rain fall, fallowed by Mistral
And august was dry and cool until beginning of September almost like summer.
The Harvest was made in optimum conditions with just two rains fallowed by Mistral.
The temperatures in September were in general cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon.
The harvest started on August 29th to end on September 28th
The grapes were perfectly healthy from the start to the end. The grapes were very ripe but well balanced
Hugel & fils – Riquewihr (Alsace)
This 2007 vintage in Alsace will bring many surprises, and good ones !
Overall, wine lovers seeking the elegance and balance that typifies classic Alsace wines should be pleased with 2007. The vintage, ended up with one of the longest harvesting times in recent years and with overall longest hang time from blossoming to picking. Just what the doctor ordered !
In the Schoenenbourg we picked our very best vineyards planted with Riesling with an average ripening of 13.8° potential.
In the Sporen, we harvested at the level necessary for Vendange Tardive (Late Harvest) denominations with 17.8° potential after having already done a selective picking of berries affected by noble rot in the same plots. The measurements were controlled by an inspector of the INAO.
The production or not of VT or SGN is always in Alsace an excellent indicator of the quality of the year.
It should therefore turn out to be a great classic vintage for Alsace.
Germany
Egon Muller Scharzhof –Saar
April of 2007 was exceptional. There was no rain and the average temperature was about 5°C higher than normal. The vineyards thrived and by the end of May flowering was complete, about a month earlier than usually.
Summer was remarkable only for the amount of rain. Especially June was extremely wet with about 2 and a half times the normal precipitation. The temperatures were normal and an extremely early harvest seemed possible. September became drier and cooler however, and we started picking on October 1st.
During the first week of the harvest the grapes were ripe, the yields were around 55 hl/ha and our impression was that it was going to be a „useful“ vintage with a lot of Kabinett. There was no rain until October 29th, the sugar levels rose every day while the yields slowly diminished and under stable conditions it was possible to harvest with great care. Though there was not a lot of Noble Rot selective picking was rewarded. We brought the last grapes home on October 29th, just before the onset of the rain.
The average yield is in the order of 35 hl/ha and the sugar levels, especially on the later harvested wines are very high but so are the acids. 2007 promises to be a great vintage of classic balance like 1997 or 1971.
Italy
Antinori – Firenze (Tuscany)
"I believe that 2007 will be remembered as one of the most significant vintages in the last fifteen years. In my own personal experience, based on many years working with Marchesi Antinori, this is one of the three best harvests ever, along with 1990 and 1997.
In Tuscany, 2007 yielded really excellent results, both in traditional areas like Chianti Classico, Montalcino and Montepulciano, and in the more modern zones like Maremma. The wines are particularly extraordinary because, unusually, they combine considerable organoleptic intensity with ageing potential and a minerally quality only found in really great years. In Umbria 2007 the quality was very good, like in 2006, while in Puglia this was undoubtedly the best harvest ever in our Tormaresca estate”.
Renzo Cotarella, Managing Director of Marchesi Antinori srl
Sassicaia – Tenuta San Guido (Bolgheri)
Portugal
The Symington Family Port Companies – Vila Nova de Gaia (Oporto and Douro)
2007 will be remembered for the exceptionally wet and cool weather over the first six months of the year, which was useful in replacing the critically low water reserves in the Douro, but which also caused some problems in the vineyard with the appearance of both mildew and oidium in June and July.
Veraison was quite delayed owing to the cooler weather, but a fine August and September allowed most grapes to reach perfect maturity only a week or so later than usual. With skins quite thin this year, final maturation came on more quickly than expected, and we were able to start picking the upper Douro Quintas on 10th September.
Some rain showers at the end of September did little to upset the rhythm of the vintage, and fine weather returned for the remainder of the picking. There is no doubt that despite a smaller than normal crop, the Douro valley has produced some exceptional Ports and Douro DOC wines this year and their evolution in vat and cask over the coming months will be followed with great interest.
Spain
Torres – Spain, Vilafranca del Penedes (Catalunya)
In general, 2007 has been an excellent year in terms of quality but 5-6% lower in terms of yield. However, grape quality, health and ripeness have been at an optimum level. This year the white wines are very intense and fruity, with a notably higher acidity, while the reds are also very fruity, with good colour and well-matured tannins.
The weather has been relatively even throughout Catalonia. The vineyards ripened under optimum conditions as there was rain at the end of 2006 (71 l/ m2) and in spring (180 l/m2). During the harvest we had a week of rain towards the end of August (approx. 77 l/m2) but fortunately this didn’t do any damage as it was followed by 3-4 days of intense heat, which put a stop to any initial botrytis. We also had a couple of rainy days towards the end of September but they didn’t affect quality as the soil managed to absorb the water effectively.
In general, the temperatures during ripening were cooler, i.e. between one and two and a half degrees lower than last year. Nights were also colder than usual. This has led to a slower but steadier ripening process, slightly raising the acidity of the wines compared with other years. The wines this year are truly spectacular!!
We started harvesting on 20 August with Moscatel de Frontignan and ended on 13 October with Parellada, Cariñena and Tempranillo.
Vega Sicilia – Valbuena de Duero (Castilla y Leon)
The vintage 2007 is characterised by an atypical vegetative cycle, specially regarding two moments: first an atypical month of August for the last 5 years with low temperatures that delayed the cycle and second the high temperatures and good weather at the end of the cycle.
Three climate factors were prevalent through out the year and brought worries to producers:
1- The month of August with atypically low temperatures.
2- Early frost the 28th of September. Depending on the area in Ribera del Duero the temperatures oscillated from –5ºC at Burgos and 0º in Vega Sicilia.
3- Rains during the last week in September/ first week October. In Vega Sicilia we had 40-50 mm rainfall.
We started the harvest the 6-7th October (usual dates for the area) and we finished the 17th October. The overall appreciation is positive if we take into account the negative expectations from the beginning.
As a conclusion for Vega Sicilia the vintage was satisfactory. Once more from all the work done in the vineyards with rigour, limited productions and all the efforts that help for the ripeness, you can see the result in the wine.
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