2007 Burgundy Vintage

The warmest April in 50 years got the vintage off to a good and early start. From May to August it turned cool and dreary, with rainy spells and virtually no sunshine. Rain and bad weather set in from July, and the Cote Chalonnaise and Cote de Beaune did not escape the dull summer. Mildew and grey rot were constant threats, though less so than in Bordeaux that year, and growers had to put in effort, vigilance and extra treatments while the grapes struggled to ripen. By mid-August the vintage's future looked badly compromised, the BIVB wrote. Then the weather changed radically at the end of August. A warm late August and a fresh, sunny September ripened the skins and sent sugar levels soaring, while drying north winds held back the rot, and the sun and north wind of the first days of September let the grapes dry and reach full ripeness. The forecast late harvest became an early one, with huge variation in picking dates. Jean-Marc Boillot started picking on 20 August, Louis-Michel Liger-Belair of the Chateau de Vosne-Romanee harvested between 1 and 4 September, and Alain Burguet in Gevrey-Chambertin began only on 8 September. By 14 September there had been two weeks of clear blue skies and sunshine with temperatures below average, the Pinot Noir harvest was essentially complete and Chardonnay needed more time. Sorting was heavy: one Volnay 1er Cru Les Taillepieds parcel lost 30 percent at the triage table, and eliminating unripe and unhealthy grapes cut yields overall by around 20 percent.

Decanter gave the grand cru-studded Cote de Nuits the edge: light, elegant Gevrey-Chambertins, appealingly perfumed Morey-St-Denis and translucent, pure Nuits-St-Georges with juicy red fruit. The BIVB agreed, placing the vintage's finest successes in the Cote de Nuits, and Burgundy-Report's harvest notes put the average quality of Pinot Noir in the Cote de Nuits above that of the Cote de Beaune, as in most years. In the Cote de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet and Santenay were sweet and juicy with smooth tannins, Pommard supple and minerally, Volnay sensual and floaty, and Beaune ripe and well structured. For whites, the BIVB described Chablis as a little short on power and roundness but charming, citrusy and remarkably fresh, and a vintage of pleasure to drink young for its fruit, and the Maconnais as fruity and floral with a fresh, mineral palate after a sunny, dry September.

In Decanter's tasting of the vintage, Matthew Jukes scored Comtes Lafon's Meursault Perrieres 20/20, the only perfect score he gave in 2008, and Etienne Sauzet's Montrachet 19.5. Jean-Marc Roulot's Meursault Perrieres, Leflaive's Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet Pucelles, and Marc Colin's Batard-Montrachet each earned 19. Among the reds, Sarah Marsh MW scored Armand Rousseau's Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St-Jacques, Comte Liger-Belair's La Romanee and Henri Gouges' Nuits-St-Georges Les St-Georges 19.5, with Comte Georges de Vogue's Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses, Nicolas Rossignol-Jeanniard's Volnay Caillerets and Pierre Damoy's Chambertin Clos de Beze Vieilles Vignes on 19.

• Whites: Comtes Lafon Meursault Perrieres 20/20; Etienne Sauzet Montrachet 19.5
• Whites: Roulot Meursault Perrieres, Leflaive Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet and Pucelles, Marc Colin Batard-Montrachet, all 19
• Reds: Rousseau Clos St-Jacques, Liger-Belair La Romanee, Gouges Les St-Georges, all 19.5
• Reds: de Vogue Les Amoureuses, Rossignol-Jeanniard Caillerets, Damoy Clos de Beze Vieilles Vignes, all 19; Joseph Voillot Pommard Rugiens 18.5

Decanter called these wines ones of charm rather than structure. They are fragrant, with light tannins and fresh, accessible fruit, and the long, cool season preserved Pinot Noir's floral character, though styles vary hugely with terroir, picking dates, sorting and mildew control. Its guide, updated January 2017, rated Cote d'Or reds 3/5 and saw limited ageing potential, with enjoyable drinking for up to 10 years for the best wines. Sarah Marsh MW summed up the reds: 'Thanks to hard graft after a terrible summer, the top producers have crafted fragrant, classic 2007 reds to enjoy while your other Burgundies are maturing.' Matthew Jukes went further on the whites: 'It's a vintage that defines the Chardonnay grape, its exact positioning in Burgundy and its superiority over every other Chardonnay made in the world.' In its December 2008 report the BIVB wrote (translated): "If the expression 'saved from the waters' could apply to a vintage, there is no doubt it would be 2007," and described aromatic, gourmand reds with tender tannins that would delight lovers of young wines, and gourmand whites of very fine quality. At harvest, a Morey-Saint-Denis winemaker told Burgundy-Report, 'Our tannins are low, acids are high,' and another producer said the vintage 'certainly won't be a great keeper like 2005.' Burgundy-Report's harvest notes also likened the first wine pressed at one domaine, a Beaune 1er Cru Les Cras, to a 2000 with just a little more depth.