Sweet success

This short week has been dominated by politics and sweet wines. Most Sauternes and Barsac estates have now released with just a few big names such as Yquem, Climens and de Fargues still to come. This is an exceptional vintage with both quantity and quality. In fact most producers have never witnessed such a straightforward harvest. Rather than the usual headache of multiple trie spaced weeks apart, wine-makers enjoyed a uniform transformation in their vineyards as botrytis spread and concentrated sugars in the grapes. Countless estates told the same story; all grapes harvested in a single week, large yields (comparatively) and exceptional quality. Residual sugar levels are high, but these are balanced, fresh, complex, mineral, really engaging wines that are close in quality to the 2001s.

The star releases include Suduiraut (97-99), Rieussec (95-97) and Coutet (96-98). All scores are taken from The Wine Advocate issue 188. We were also particularly impressed with Doisy Vedrines, which, at £245 per case looks tremendous value.

As with the Left Bank and the Right Bank, we asked our tasting team to list their top five Sauternes/Barsac. Unsurprisingly, Yquem and Climens run out as clear winners, but there were strong showings from Rieussec, Doisy Vedrines, de Fargues and Coutet. Our results can be found below (in order of preference):

Yquem
Climens
Rieussec
Doisy Vedrines
De Fargues
Coutet
Doisy Daene
Suduiraut
Rayne Vigneau

The Bordeaux circus rolls into town

Today, the Union des Grands Crus swapped their Chateaux for the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. This annual event has become an enlightening tasting as it often presents the first opportunity to taste a vintage from bottle. This year was the turn of the 2007s. Widely rubbished before the barrel tastings, some Chateaux defied the miserable conditions and with an extraordinary amount of hard work in the vineyard and no lack of skill in the winery, have produced some half decent wines - but how are they showing now?

Well, the pick of the reds are elegant and refined, with pure fruit cores; they will be attractive early drinkers. Those who extracted too much have made unbalanced wines with tough tannins, but in the main, winemakers have been gentle and have produced simple but charming wines. The stars of the show included, Pontet Canet, Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron, Léoville Barton, Langoa Barton and Beychevelle. These were really well made wines that will reward medium term cellaring.

The real winners in 2007 though are the whites. The dry whites from Pessac-Léognan are aromatic, concentrated and possess lovely crisp acidities. Highlights included, Carbonnieux, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafite and Picque Caillou. The sweeties are quite exceptional too. There is ample botrytis, richness and complexity - all framed by delicious racy acidities. Suduiraut, Doisy Daene, Doisy Vedrines, de Fargues and Coutet all shone, but a particular attention should be drawn to Climens, who have made a blockbuster to rival Yquem. Berenice Lurton has made a wine of mammoth proportions; a truly exceptional Climens!

So, in summary, the best reds are charming, balanced wines with fine structures, which will reward early drinking. The whites are outstanding; if you haven’t already bought them for your cellar, then hurry…