Anne’s Comments
2007, my twentieth vinification !
A new appellation is arrived : Echezeaux !
My guest house is opened with oenotouristic visits organized by Elodie my assistant.
We have also acquired 8.5 ha in the South of France (Minervois appellation) and built a new winery with 3 guest houses available from June 2008.
2007 is an early year with seasons inversed ! After a mild winter, bud break occured mid-April and the vines’ growth accelerated thanks to summer temperatures. The flowering was 3 weeks earlier than a classical vintage ! We expected the harvest around August 25, if not earlier…
Then a cool and rainy weather settled until end of August which induced a lack of sun and the development of rot. All along summer we made a strict and selective green harvest to keep a good quality of our grapes.
Picking finally started the Agust 29 to end the September 16 (a slowness award for 6.5 ha). We benefited good conditions at the end of ripening but the vintage seems to be light in structure. We had enough alcohol degrees after sorting but the lack of acidity suggests it would be better to drink the wines young.
White wines are very nice, fruity and mineral. Red wines are clear, precise, with delicate tannins and light colour, even sweet for Echezeaux and Richebourg.
I think we have here a little vintage with fruit, sharpness and elegance which is, given the circumstances, a success…
journalists’ Comments
Tasting notes Neal Martin nov. 2008
Hautes Cotes de Nuits Cuvée Marine 2007 (90)
Tasted at the Domaine. A pale straw colour. The nose is very attractive with honey, a touch of mango and apricot. Good definition, nothing overblown : that is not Anne’s style. The palate displays good concentration, fine acidity, slight honeyed qualities, hints of dried fruits with a very focused finish. Excellent. Drink now – 2012.
Hautes Cotes de Nuits rouge 2007 (85)
Tasted at the Domaine. Elevage in 30-35% new oak, this wine bottled just two weeks ago. A light nose of wild stawberry and wild hedgerow that is just lacking a little fruit intensity. The palate is simple with light red-berried fruit, high acidity, a little tart with a soft, cherry-tinged finish. Fine. Drink now – 2012.
Bourgogne rouge 2007 (88)
Tasted at the Domaine. Anne’s Bourgogne rouge is sourced from four different parcels with some of the vines over thirthy years old in deep soils (two or three meters). I prefer the nose on this to the Hautes Côtes, with attractive raspberry, earthy notes coming through. Moderate definition. Good acidity, taut, nice balance, not as rounded as the Hautes Côtes de Nuits rouge but with good cohesion and a nice dry finish. Fine . Drink now – 2012.
Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d’Orveau 2007 (88-90)
Tasted at the Domaine. This Combe d’Orveau was harvested over two days on 10th -11th september as Anne waited for the ripeness, a blend of a forty-year old vines and younger 15 -to 16 yeard old vines. A taut nose ,very good definition, with raspberry, strawberry and a touch of cut grass. It has a supple entry, good acidity and harmony, light-bodied but very focused and pure. Crisp wild strawberry, redcurrant and Morello towards the finish with very fine tannins. Tart, early drinking Chambolle. Drink now -2012.
Vosne Romanée Les Barreaux 2007 (89-91)
Tasted at the Domaine. A very attracted lifted nose, good fruit intensity scents of raspberry, with strawberry, minerals and a touch of clementine. Harmonious on the palate with good acidity, more weight than the Chambolle, more rounded towards the finish very fine tannins. Redcurrant, raspberry and a tocuh of limestone. Very fine. Drink 2010-2018.
Echezeaux Les Loachausses 2007 (90-92)
Tasted at the Domaine. A very fragrant nose, well-defined, good minerality with touches pf strawberry and blueberry. It has an engaging sense of transparency. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, light red-berried fruits, supple texture, tight on the finish with delicate touches of cherry and wildhedgerow, with citrus fruits in the background. This is a very pretty Echezeaux. Drink 2010 – 2020.
Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui (90-92)
Tasted at the Domaine. Bottled three weeks ago ( 24th-25th october), this is generous on the nose, notes of raspberry coulis, red cherries, some nice spicy aromas coming forth with an honeyed note in the background. Very fine fruit concentration on the palate, wild strawberry, a touch of cranberry with fine minerality towards the finish. Not great depth or length, feminine in style, well-crafted Clos Vougeot for medium-term drinking. Drink 2010-2020.
Richebourg (92-94)
Tasted at the Domaine. Like the Clos Vougeot, this is generous on the nose (more so than the previous day according to Anne). It has an attractive sweet of red-berried fruits, a touch of orange peel and citrus fruit. Attains a floral aspect with time in glass. The tannins are very fine, this is certainly an unashamedly lighter style of Richebourg, but that is not bad thing because it retains great elegance and purity with a pleasurable silky finish that lingers tantalizingly in the mouth. Drink 2012-2025.
STEPHEN TANZER
Chambolle Musigny la Combe d’Orveau 2007 : medium red. Musky aromas of smoke and game; rather low-toned a Gros wine. Supple and sweet, with limited energy and lift to the flavors of strawberry jam and underbrush. A round wine with a slightly dusty finish. 92-95
Vosne Romanée les barreaux 2007 : good bright medium red. Higher-pitched aromas of black raspberry, violet and minerals. Displays more energy and spice character in the mouth than the chambolle, along with a floral scent and a distinctly lighter touch. no shortage of acidity for the vintage. 87
Echezeaux les Loachausses 2007 : palish red. Redcurrant, tobacco and minerals on the slightly dull nose. Supple and gentle on the palate, with just enough acidity to frame the flavors of red berry compote. Smooth tannins, will not get in the way of drinking this now. these vines are in a very early-ripening section of Echezeaux, and Anne believes that her harvest (on august 27) was too late. 89
Clos vougeot le Grand Maupertui 2007 : medium red. Sweet red fruits complicated by menthol and licorice on the nose. Lush, broad and sweet in the middle palate, then a bit more taut on the back half, finishing with dusty tannins and lingering red fruits. With limited mineral and floral lift, though, this lacks a hidden dimension. 88
Richebourg 2007 : medium red. Complex nose melds sweet red fruits, minerals and cocoa. Silky and aromatic in the mouth, with expressive, highly nuanced flavors of red and darker berries, exotic spices, leather, game and flowers, plus an intriguing saline quality. this boasts early appeal owing to its sheer sweetness but also possesses a fairly solid tannic spine for aging. 90
Clive Coates février 2012
Clos Vougeot 2007 : Medium colour. Soft nose. Some of the flavours of maturity. But fresh. Medium body. Ripe and succulent. Stylish, long, positive and msot attrative. Now just about ready.
Richebourg 2007 : Medium colour. Rather more backbone and vigour here. But it doesn’t show as well. there is a certain astringency with dominates. The softer Clos Vougeot seems better balanced. Yet there is plenty of energy here. We’ll see.
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