2 days later under argon.
The fruit is VERY dark. There is considerable freshness considering the ripeness.
No nose still. Not much complexity but LOTS of material.
This is a wait and see wine for me.
Great comments…
I’ve yet to have an '07 that showed any bitterness and while some are certainly heady, they have nice acidity and freshness to go with it. The '05s (or '03s… or '04s) certainly didn’t taste like the '07s on release and none of those vintages had the sweetness (what I think some are calling candied) paired with the fresh quality to the fruit… '03 had the sweet quality to the fruit but not the freshness… Some have claimed RS but I’ve asked the winemakers and the numbers are reasonable… add to this that the characteristic is everywhere… Almost all of the domaines show a similar quality to the fruit… and I think you can rule out everyone leaving some sugar in the wines. With regards to alcohol, a few (didn’t write it down but that was my general impression) domaines reported higher alcohol than '05/'06 but they’re all in the ball park… '07 was a cooler vintage than both '05 and '06.
Aging… who the hell knows and this is always a guess. Same wine makers, same grapes, similar blends… I’d say we could certainly extrapolate from past vintages to a degree but this is always a gray area. I will say that I was thrilled when a recent bottle of mon Aieul showed a tannic, structured core on the second day (hard to save any)… So I do think these wines have the underlying structure to age well. Time will certainly tell though.
If I wasn’t so damn broke and already trying to figure out how to hide the CC bill from my wife, I’d be buying more.
Don, agreed. Working on Oct.
Jeb, good thoughts except for the being broke part. I am going to buy some '07s but I will be picky. I did not buy many '06s and are finding that I like the ones I am trying so I may buy more of those as sales come up.
I have to say I agree completely. Personally, for my palate, I am staying away from the new wave producers and sticking with the old-style winemakers. The 2007s I’ve tried have shown enormous pleasure right now, but some, as Paul says, had a hollow middle, and others were over the top. Frankly, I’m buying 2001s and 2004s and avoiding pretty much every other year.
Interesting debate regarding vintages. I think CdP allows so much flexibility in buying decisions due to the plethora of above average vintages. With grenache being a bit less delicate than say BDX varietal blends, I think the quality band is more narrow in terms of how low it can go (save 02) versus how high it can go. The later, imo, is a question of stylistic preference, which is great if your style aligns with the less fleshy variety, as they will be available for great value. 01,04,05 and 06 are still looking pretty. 08 is purportedly good, so while I will do some dabbling on the 07s, I don’t feel handcuffed in going deep like 05 BDX…
I think, though, that the real strength in 07 S. Rhone will be the lesser bottlings which will be phenomenal values. I think we are seeing this with the quality that is represented in the 10-30 dollar range consistently throughout the region.
2007, as everyone agrees, is an outstanding vintage, as a whole.
I am not sure who qualifies as a traditional producer in a region where most of the producers appear so new, so I would never limit myself in the fashion. If the wine is good, I drink it. Period.
2007s appear to be good, so I drink.