The white wines of Pessac-Léognan were perhaps the greatest hope for the vintage outside of Sauternes, and so perhaps I shouldn't have left it until halfway though the tasting until I approached them. A handful of proprietors were already all poured-out, and so I was unable to revisit Domaine de Chevalier and de Fieuzal, in both cases a great shame. Perhaps the proprietors should bring another bottle or two?

Nevertheless those wines that I did taste confirmed that this was a good vintage for the white wines of the region. Bouscaut surprised with its lively, fresh accessibility, Malartic-Lagravière also showed well, but it was the final duo of Pape-Clément and Smith-Haut-Lafitte that stole the show, and not for the first time either. The two wines are completely different in terms of style; the former showing high quality fruit always with a thick layer of oak, the latter having a richer depth of fruit, rounder and sweeter, with much more subdued oak influence. When tasted during the primeurs I found a slight preference for the former, but on this tasting the quality was very comparable. Which one you should acquire depends very much on your feelings about oak in this style, and when you want to drink the wines; Pape-Clément needs to be cellared for longer than Smith-Haut-Lafitte I feel.

As for the reds the successes did not come thick and fast, although a number of wines will make attractive drinking, provided that the wines are approached in the right frame of mind. These are lighter wines, without the substance or texture of a warmer and more desirable vintage, wines that lack flesh through the middle. The red Pape-Clément, although in a style that does tend to divide tasters with its tendency towards extraction, richness and oak, showed rather nicely in my opinion. Sadly the corresponding Smith-Haut-Lafitte was not as appealing as the white version, and otherwise only Les Carmes Haut-Brion showed any promise worthy of comment, with perhaps the red Domaine de Chevalier being deserving of at least a nod. Are these wines worth purchasing and cellaring though? Certainly not at current prices. (28/10/09)

Pessac-Léognan 2007: Tasting Notes

Tasted at the UGC de Bordeaux tasting in October 2009. Click to locate stockists.

White Wines

Château Bouscaut Blanc 2007: A vibrant nose, with evidence of juicy fruit, greengages and plums, overlaid with notes of smoky barrels. A very admirable style on the palate, fresh with requisite acidity, a little plump, quite grippy too though. Structured, although approachable, noticeably grassy in the midpalate also. Nevertheless, overall very good. 16.5+/20

Château Carbonnieux Blanc 2007: A gently creamed fruit nose, lightly grassy, with notes of yellow plum. Good freshness on the palate, a bit steely though, but well composed. Rather punchy, but with a lean, precise style, more so than when tasted en primeur. A very clean style. Overall, should be good. 16+/20

Château La Louvière Blanc 2007: A lovely, smoky barrel note here, still accompanied by some plump stone fruit, all melded together in a rounded, harmonious style. The palate is clean and fresh, lightly textured, with some notes of capsicum here. A good and slightly fat and juicy style, with a fine core of acidity. 16.5+/20

Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 2007: A very lightly honeyed nose, with notes of smoky oak. Less punchy and impressive than some of the other wines here, although there is good midpalate substance and a good presence of flesh. It has grip and structure too. Certainly a good wine. 16+/20

Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc 2007: This wine has some lightly creamed fruit on the nose, with Sauvignon elements shining most, namely capsicum. There is some nice, bright fruit on the palate, which is round and textured but also bright and fresh. There are stone fruit flavours, tinged with honey and backed up by good acidity. This has a lovely style. 16.5+/20

Château Oliver Blanc 2007: This wine has a lemon, honey and menthol bouquet, which when combined give it a very medicinal character, more reminiscent of a throat-remedy than a wine. The same character comes through on the palate, which is certainly fresh, with some herbal elements too. This will be more appealing when this aromatic profile has evolved into something less reminiscent of Tunes™ lozenges. 15+/20

Château Pape-Clément Blanc 2007: Smoky nose, the usual application of oak here. It is easy to be seduced by these roasty-toasty aromas but there is good quality creamy fruit here too, with a honeyed quality, and altogether it does work well. There is some weight on the palate, with a broad, sweet, smoky edge. Good substance. Overall, rather stylish, but one for the cellar. 17.5+/20

Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc 2007: Fruit-rich rather than oaky on the nose, but not exuberant; it has a restrained and reserved feel to it, even though the fruit character has a fresh, aromatic plumpness. Lovely substance on the palate, fleshy and concentrated, firm and yet softening through the middle. Notes of spice and fruit complexity. This is very good indeed. 17.5+/20

Red Wines

Château Bouscaut 2007: This wine has a nose of hot although aromatic black fruits. The palate I find to be soft, slightly hollow, lacking in terms of impact or precision. There is a grippy structure visible beneath this. It has freshness, from good acidity, but rather hard tannins. Short finish. 13.5/20

Château Carbonnieux 2007: This has a forward, open, sweet fruit nose with a black cherry character, very much a gentle but appealing style. The palate has a little weight, polished flesh, clearly a little substance here. In the middle a supple core of tannins, with nice acidity. Overall a nicely composed although gentle wine, and a good effort for the vintage. 15.5+/20

Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2007: This has some exotic red fruits on the nose, but darker elements too, with notes of spice and richness. Supple fruit on the palate, a fairly firm structure too, but there is substance alongside. It has a fine, aromatic, perfumed, violet-edge to the fruit, and overall seems like an attractive albeit lighter and rather young wine. One of the better efforts. 16.5+/20

Domaine de Chevalier 2007: This wine has immediate appeal on the nose, with a sweet depth of black cherry fruit, with smoky charcoal and nutty oak on the side. Cool, stylish and quite refreshing on the palate, with some substance, the barest touch of light cream. The tannins are ripe, and there is some substance to them. Overall, for the vintage this has a fleshy, impressive quality. Good effort. 16+/20

Château de Fieuzal 2007: Dense, withdrawn, polished fruit on the nose, inside a harder shell. There is also a little cashew nut, from the oak. Immediately seems much leaner than expected on the palate though, with a fresh red fruit character, but there is more substance coming through in the middle. Gently composed, light in tannin and substance, with fresh acids. It shows more appeal than it did en primeur. 15+/20

Château Haut-Bailly 2007: Dark fruits on the nose here, quite expressive, with a light perfume and a hint of sweetness. Rather more structured and serious on the palate than I expected, reserved, more withdrawn fruit, although with a nicely supple weight. Quite some tannin in the back though, showing a very grippy finish. There is the substance to cope though I think. Even has a little length. Good. 15.5+/20

Château La Louvière 2007: Quite a nutty nose here, with a layer of bright, black cherry fruit. The palate seems very lean on entry though, quite supple, with just some gentle tannins through the midpalate. A quiet and very subdued style of wine, although it is at least fresh and pretty. 14.5+/20

Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 2007: This wine has quite an exotic tinge to the fruit, with notes of smoky black cherry and blackberry. A little paprika too? The palate has similarly bright flavours but is lean, giving it an appealing style but one that nevertheless lacks substance. It has no particularly hard edges though, being soft and supple, and it should drink well young. 14.5+/20

Château Latour-Martillac 2007: Dense fruit here, slightly meaty and feral in character. It has a more stony character at the start of the palate, then becoming more lean and slightly herbal through the middle. Red fruit flavours dominate, especially red cherry and cranberry. Overall a leaner and rather ungiving style with prominent grip. Seems unbalanced and maybe overworked. 13.5/20

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2007: This has some gently perfumed fruit on the nose, but lacks clarity of expression, and there is a little earthiness to it as well. Smoothly polished fruit on the palate, with a stony background, a light texture, and some tannins in the midpalate. It has a slightly hard style, but it does have freshness on its side. Not showing as well as I thought it would from my primeur tasting. 14.5+/20

Château Oliver 2007: A rather heavy style of fruit here, dull rather than bright, with some nutty oak. Polished but not bright. Fleshy, a little hard, some substance but also some coarse tannins underneath. There is a little plumpness to the fruit but overall not a harmonious composition. 14+/20

Château Pape-Clément 2007: This has sweet and surprisingly dense fruit given the context of the vintage. There is obviously too, but on the nose at least the two seem to be well married up. Dark character on the palate, polished, with moderate substance and quite ripe and silky tannins. A surprising quality of fruit through to the finish too. For the vintage, this is impressive. 16.5+/20

Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte 2007: A dark style of fruit on the nose here, with a rather hot feel to it, with hints of baked stone, roasted-charred aromas, and an animally edge too. A supple palate, with more crunchy fruit than I expected and quite an attractive although gentle substance. A little length too. There is potential for development in this wine, but it is noticeably less successful than the white. 15+/20