2007 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

Virgile Lignier started harvesting on September 2 in 2007, but waited "a long time" to pick his Cheneverys. Potential alcohol levels were in the 12.3% to 13.2% range, with some wines lightly chaptalized. Lignier believes the 2007s have more depth than the 2006s, perhaps a result of the low crop level, and that their tannins are more thoroughly integrated. But he also told me he did a gentler extraction in 2007 because the tannins were less ripe than those of the previous year. Lignier feels that the fruit component is finer and more precise than in 2006, in part because he vinified a number of his cuvees with 30% to 35% whole clusters (the fruit in 2006 was entirely destemmed). The malos here finished as late as September, and all the 2007s were racked prior to the 2008 harvest.