The white wines of Bordeaux are set to be the success story of the vintage, experts say.
Both the sweet wines of Sauternes and the dry wines of the Graves have impressed professionals in Bordeaux for en primeur 2007.
Decanter‘s Sauternes specialist David Peppercorn MW is confident the wines he has tasted have good potential.
‘It’s a great vintage,’ he told decanter.com. ‘Just how great remains to be seen – many of the wines are not yet in their finished state but the potential is there. This is the most consistent in many a year.’
Peppercorn also joined others in praising the dry white wines of the Graves, saying he was ‘very impressed’ with the wines.
‘Very exciting,’ said Serena Sutcliffe MW, head of Sotheby’s international wine department.
Decanter’s contributing editor Steven Spurrier agreed, calling them ‘brilliant’.
‘The wines have real tension,’ said Spurrier. ‘They’re fantastic. It’s going to focus attention on the Graves whites.’
Initial reports from the tastings indicate that for the red wines of Bordeaux, 2007 will not, in general, be a great year.
The difference between the red and white wines was demonstrated by Spurrier’s comments following his visit to first growth Chateau Haut-Brion.
‘Last year the tasters agreed that the best wine was Haut-Brion red – this year we agreed that it’s the white.’
Written by Oliver Styles in Bordeaux
