Saved by the bell? 2007 Bordeaux

The annual November Bordeaux tasting put on by the Institute of Masters of Wine is one I try not to miss. Held at the beautiful Vintners Hall, it is a fascinating opportunity to try most of the top wines of Bordeaux (including First Growths), four years on from the vintage. 

The estimable Tim Atkin MW described this year's tasting as a 'scrum' in his write up of the wines. It certainly had the feel of a polite bun fight. But it is a reflection of the cool welcome for the beleaguered 2007 vintage that conditions were positively courtly compared to the mosh pit of 2009, when the 2005s were on show.

2007 was saved from complete ignominy by an Indian summer, after a grey summer and sodden August. Nonetheless, the vintage was rated very poorly by Robert Parker. The best it could ever offer, it seemed, was soft and charming accessibility. At its worst, which was all too easily achieved by those without the resources to invest in protection and selection against rot, 2007 was green and thin, with murky fruit. You can understand why this year's tasting was a little less popular than usual.

Fearless, I attended anyway. I have a slightly perverse fascination with 'off' vintages, driven, I think, by sympathy for the underdog, and the love of a bargain. (What's more, the tasting always precedes the IMW Annual Reception, an evening do in which new Masters of Wine are disgorged, stripped naked and ritually bathed in Bollinger while we sip along, clap and eat nice canapés.)

I chose not to taste blind, but I was still surprised by what I found. Of all the communes I did not expect to love Margaux. But when I got back and totted up my scores and reviewed my notes, this was the origin of most of my star picks. The best wines, Margaux, Palmer and Rauzan-Ségla, were scented, fluid, fresh and pacy. Delicately intense. Not massively concentrated, but with intricate nuance and subtle textures. I am reminded again of the perils of rating Bordeaux so early, of assigning a judgment before the wines are bottled, and have time to put on flesh and harmony.

For now, though, 2007 offers fertile hunting for lovers of elegant, fresh Bordeaux who just want something grown up and harmonised to drink. We're off to stock up, and will be bringing an offer of this attractive and drinking vintage to the website in the New Year.

Sarah Abbott.