First, decanter.com:
Bordeaux producers are basking in the September sun after their disastrous summer - and predicting a last-minute reprieve for the harvest.
With much of Europe inundated during the wettest summer for centuries, the press has been unrelentingly negative, with reports of uncontrollable mildew in the vineyards.
To combat that, several appellations are offering to have their grapes tasted, hoping to show how ripe and sweet they are.
Seven of the 218 organic growers in the region held a special tasting in Pomerol this week to counter claims that their crops were particularly affected by mildew.
A local oenologist, Anne Calderoni, sampled Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes in Pomerol, and gave her verdict to the local paper. 'They are not ripe yet, but are highly aromatic.'
In an email newsletter, celebrated Graves estate Domaine de Chevalier announced, 'In living memory we've rarely had such perfect weather conditions to save the vintage.'...MORE
From Drinks Media Wire:
Domaine de Chevalier: Let's stop talking nonsense… as far as Bordeaux's 2007 vintage is concerned, the game isn't over yet!
The bleak weather this summer and the rain in late August led far too many people to predict that 2007 would not be a great year.Yet the radical change in the weather since the 30th August has shown that, contrary to the French saying, "August makes the must", this year it could very well be September. This has happened in the past, although not usually with such intensity.
Indeed, in living memory we've rarely had such perfect weather conditions to save the vintage:
- maximum sunshine
- north to north-easterly winds, light to moderate and therefore very dry
- cold temperatures at night (10 to 13°C)
- temperatures that remain moderate during the day (24 to 26°C)
- sunny days alternating with cool nights, which is remarkable for the maturity of tannins in red wines. These conditions ripen the grapes, homogenise ripeness, and concentrate the grapes' sugars and flavours while keeping the fruit fresh and preventing diseases and rot from developing.
The '05's have gotten spendy. Here's Berry Bros. & Rudd on the 2005's.
