See Decanter's vintage guide for Sauternes and Barsac 2007
Sauternes and Barsac 2007
Keep
Outstanding vintage that combines richness and purity with balance and breed. Exceptional freshness too.
Weather Conditions
Out of the whole of Bordeaux, only Sauternes made indisputably great wines in 2007. The region laboured under the same weather problems that beset the rest of Bordeaux from May to the end of August (patchy flowering and ripening and a chronic lack of sunshine). However, because botrytis determines the quality of sweet wines, the district was able to capitalise on the superb autumn weather to a far greater extent than the reds. Botrytis even turned the uneven ripeness into an advantage. The harvest itself, though, was slow and painstaking. Botrytis was generally slow to develop and growers had to wait patiently for desired concentrations to develop – and then harvest grape by grape. The final yield was well below average.
Best Appellations
Both appellations have produced wines of great concentration, thus very high sugar levels, but also exceptional freshness – because of the cold nights in September – and also great purity of fruit because of the quality of the botrytis. Very aromatic too, due to the differences in day and night-time tempertaures in September. The vintage is being compared with 2001 for its richness and purity, 1988 for its balance and breed, with sights set on 1967 as the ultimate role model.
Best Producers
Sauternes: châteaux Suduiraut, Rieussec, Rayne Vigneau, d’Yquem, de Fargues, Lafaurie-Peyraquey, La Tour Blanche. Barsac: châteaux Climens, Coutet, Doisy-Daëne.
