Bordeaux 2007 at Four Years: St Julien & Margaux
Moving south from St Estèphe and Pauillac we come to St Julien, where quality was not significantly different to these aforementioned communes. The story of 2007 continues here with no surprises. This is not quite true of the commune of Margaux though, although sadly I have to report that the quality here does not swing back towards something more desirable than that which we have found so far. Instead the opposite is true, as in this commune we find one of the most disappointing Bordeaux experiences available on the market today.
The Story so Far
Looking back at my previous encounters with the 2007 vintage, with relevance to St Julien first, there was little that was striking or memorable about this commune following the primeur tastings. Some wines were notably stronger than their peers, with Léoville-Poyferré and Léoville-Las-Cases putting in the two most convincing performances. At the UGC tasting at two years of age, freshly in bottle, the Poyferré and Barton divisions of the great Léoville vineyard both showed well (Las-Cases does not participate in UGC events) although I noted at the time that I thought neither were at the level of Pichon-Baron in Pauillac.
As for Margaux, I have vivid memories of the primeur tasting of these wines which, if I remember correctly, was hosted by Lascombes, as being a melee of lean, light and occasionally vegetal and green wines. Experiences since have been no less concerning. Although both Margaux herself and Palmer put on a good show, the rest of the Margaux flock made for a rather uninspiring collection of wines. At the UGC tasting two years ago I did wonder at first whether this hadn’t all turned around, as the first few wines I tasted were unexpectedly good, but ultimately these turned out to be the exceptions rather than the rule. Margaux has always been a weak spot in this vintage.
