Jancis Robinson MW's first report on the 2007 vintage has been released on her Purple Pages website. Her full vintage report and red wine tasting notes will be arriving next week, but as we wait for those her notes and scores on Sauternes make interesting reading.
Although excellent, she states the vintage as whole is not as exceptional as 2001, being 'more brutal, less creamy and fine, but there is no gainsaying the massive sweetness of these wines'. She urges her readers: 'Do not ignore these wines! Especially if you are determined for whatever reason to buy some 2007s'. Volumes are apparently extremely strong, with Climens reporting an average yield of 10 hl/ha and Yquem reporting production was almost 'double a normal year' at 700 casks.
She also makes an interesting comment on release prices:
'There are rumours that the prices of the sweet whites will be announced relatively early in the 2007 primeur campaign so as not to be swamped by the full weight of the red wine campaign, but who knows?'
Selected scores (out of 20):
Yquem, 19
Clos Haut Peyraguey, 19
Rieussec, 19
Rabaud Promis, 18.5
Doisy Daene, 18.5
Coutet, 18.5
Climens, 18? (unblended samples)
Suduiraut, 17.5
Sauternes as a wine and as an investment is often overlooked, being all to easily overpowered on the markets by the red Bordeaux supertanker. The recent performance of the top wines from the region, however, is rather interesting and is a topic that we will be tackling to in a forthcoming Market Report. As a taster, below is a graph comparing the performance of the legendary Yquem 2001 versus Climens 2001 (click on the graph to enlarge).
