The
weather conditions of July caused a wave of pessimism to blow over the French
vineyards. Our partners and production team reacted to the situation as well as
ever and adapted their methods to produce expressive and well-balanced
wines.
The uneven 2007 harvest is perhaps
looking a little limited in quantity but the quality reports are
positive.
BORDEAUX - BURGUNDY - BEAUJOLAIS -LOIRE VALLEY - RHONE VALLEY - LANGUEDOC - COTES DE GASCOGNE
Our Sauvignon Blancs are
particularly lively and aromatic with dominant citrus notes.
These wines are beautifully balanced and are showing a lovely
freshness.
The reds suffered more from the rain and the Merlot ripened
later than usual.
Despite a smaller yield the wines are of satisfactory
quality.
The Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon skins gave us vivid colour to
compliment the fruity aromas.
At Château Magnol, the 2007 vintage offers a good intensity in the colour and a generous aromatic palette (notes of blackcurrant, licorice and morello cherries). We are currently ageing this wine in 350 litre oak barrels.
In Burgundy, the harvest
was not so early, especially for the
Chardonnay.
Our partners in Chablis and Macon had to be very patient,
waiting for the ripeness necessary to give the desired potential alcoholic
degree. The first tastings of the 2007 Barton & Guestier Chablis, Macon
Villages and Pouilly-Fuissé are already showing fruity wines with a promising
finish in the palate.
The Pinot Noir and the Gamay, however, were harvested one to
two weeks earlier than in 2006. Careful hand sorting was often indispensable to
eliminate the grapes having suffered from a bout of rot at the beginning of
September.
Quality-wise, the 2007 vintage is
looking good for Beaujolais both for the aromatic content and the colour. Our
partners again waited for the right moment to harvest and thus achieved optimum
ripeness.
This will be a lively
vintage.
The bad weather conditions forced all our partners to bring the
harvest forward, whether in Muscadet, Anjou, Vouvray or Sancerre.
Consequently, reports are unanimous: alcoholic degrees will be lower and
acidity levels higher than in previous years. We are
therefore expecting a rather more lively character than usual over all the
appellations of the Loire valley.
All our Loire
wines are showing mainly fruity aromas. The palate offers a lively entry, a
pleasant freshness and a long
finish.
A promising vintage! Our
partner-winegrowers took their time and harvested at the best possible
moment.
The healthy grapes produced by the Grenache, Carignan and Syrah
varieties resulted in full-bodied wines with great colour and good alcoholic
degrees, equivalent to those of 2006.
The tannins are round and soft in the
mouth.
Generally speaking, the Barton & Guestier Côtes du Rhône
and Châteauneuf-du-Pape are expressive and have a remarkable aromatic intensity.
The Syrah is undoubtedly one of the great
successes of this vintage. The Grenache and the Carignan are also in a good
year. 2007 has allowed us to produce some good cuvées.
Really a great year
for the Rhône
valley!
This region is showing a
high aromatic diversity, due largely to the practical absence of summer rain
along with mostly cool temperatures.
The vintage is looking good, with an
interesting aromatic development and vivid colours for all red and white grape
varieties.
The most noticeable characteristic of the vintage is certainly
this aromatic diversity in the wines, offering a large palette of aromas,
particularly in the Syrah.
Our Merlots, Cabernet
Sauvignons, Syrahs and Chardonnays have brought us fruity, light and elegant
wines this year. These wines will be ready to taste in the next few
months.
We registered a drop of
around 10 to 20 % in the volume for the 2007 vintage but the Sauvignon Blanc is
already showing very interesting aromas. Particularly fresh and lively in the
palate, the Barton & Guestier Sauvignon Blanc is an expressive wine (notes
of citrus and tropical fruit).
A good typical
character for this grape variety: to be discovered
soon!
The uneven ripening of
the 2007 harvest called for patience in some regions but the quality is there.
Some of our wines will soon be available to
you.
Enjoy your
tastings!