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My Article: Thinking About 2004 Bordeaux

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I had a fascinating blind tasting yesterday at Watson’s Wine shop in Central, Hong Kong. I tasted about two dozen Bordeaux at prices between HK$200 and HK$700 a bottle (about $25 to $90) for a project I am working on as wine editor of the leading luxury magazine on the island, Hong Kong Tatler.

Most of the wines were from good but not great vintages, such as 2004, 2006 and 2007, with a few top vintage wines from 2000 and 2005. And I found the best drinking were the 2004s, although the 2006s were also just opening.

By comparison, the 2005s were very tight and not giving much. Some were even austere and overly tannic at this stage of their evolution. And most were second wines from big names or crus bourgeois. The great names will be tight as a drum right now

The tasting made me realize that I sometimes overlook many of these good to very good vintages while focusing on the top ones such as 2000 or 2005.

Take a good look at 2004 at the moment. I am ordering the wines in restaurants and drinking what I have in my cellar. Some of the top wines I have drunk recently include Rauzan-Segla, Clos du Marquis and Montrose, and they are about half the price of recent top vintages, such as 2009 and 2010. Some wines from lesser estates are delicious too. I recently enjoyed the 2004 Carignan Prima.

I would love to go back and try some of my top scoring 2004s such as Haut-Brion, Ausone, Lafleur, Léoville Las Cases, Vieux-Château-Certan, and Cos d’Estournel. Anyone try some of these recently?

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14 thoughts on “My Article: Thinking About 2004 Bordeaux”

  1. Pimentel says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 8:19 am
    I agree with you. I love Montrose 2004, i buy always when i find it, specially because of the price. And cos. I love the Pichon Baron 2004 too . The nose is beautiful ! I tried haut brion and la Mission 2004 last year, when they were amazing. I think that is a beautiful vintage , with amazing prices and drink very well.
  2. Ttorgerson says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 8:56 am
    You are on the money here James. While I am a fan of buying select wines from top vintages, what does a Bordeaux drinker do while waiting for these vintages to hit their drinking stride? I have been buying the 2004 vintage with the full intent of short and medium term consumption. I appreciate these vintages. There is much drinking pleasure to be had. Stylistically, many wines are mirrors of their "on vintage" siblings at a fraction of the cost. The beauty is they are so approachable in their relative youth. I'll enjoy those 00, 03 and 05's when they are good and ready. In the mean time, cheers to the " off vintages.". Cheers to 2004 Bordeaux!
  3. mscott says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 2:13 pm
    The '04 Haut-Brion, Montrose, Pichon Baron, La Mission, Lafite and Mouton are open, balanced, and - most importantly - affordable (comparatively). The Las Cases and Cos are still tight, however, after a serious decant, they are fine examples of the vintage. When it comes to '04, I tend to prefer left bank.
  4. wkerr says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 10:11 pm
    James, I had an '04 Angelus last weekend and it was drinking beautifully. I've got quite a few left bankers in the cellar that I hadn't thought about opening, but will give them a try.
  5. tharmstrong says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 10:24 pm
    I hosted a 2004 Bordeaux dinner at my home three weeks ago. Cos, Montrose, Pichon Baron, and Pontet Canet were served. The wine of the night was Pichon Baron. The Cos was still closed, and I do not recommend drinking it. All others are accessible now. Montrose was the most elegant. Pontet Canet was a notch more modern in style than the Pichon Baron. Pichon Baron showed classic Pauillac aromas and flavors. All were each other's qualitative equal. But everyone preferred the Pichon Baron as their preferred style.

    I've also been drinking Calon-Segur 2004 lately, which is delicious.

    If you can find it, Senejac 2004 could be the greatest value right now. Fully mature, classically styled Bordeaux. You should be able to find it for about $15. Awesome.
  6. ColoradoWinePress says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 10:33 pm
    Did you see the results of the 2003 Bordeaux blind tasting I hosted?
  7. mfvogel says:
    Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:08 pm
    I had the Vieux-Château-Certan 2004 Saturday night at a restaurant in Copenhagen and it was not as good as I had expected! The nose was a little bit to green-ish and it was somewhat light on the palet also! maybe it was holding back but I did just not see the depth of a wine in the that price range of Pomerol.
  8. marcrobillard says:
    Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 7:22 am
    I can say that some of the lesser growths are drinking wonderfully as well. Had a Clerc Milon 04 last weekend and it is drinking beautifully. I have had this wine three times in the last couple of months and I really love it.
    I also have a few bottles of Pichon Baron that I have not tried yet, but will now based on this blog!
    Note: A certain British wine magazine highly praised this vintage early on for its beautiful early drinking ability and good value. Looks like they were spot on.
    Thanks.
  9. James Suckling says:
    Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 8:36 am
    Coloradowinepress. Send me the link. What was the upshot on the results?
  10. ColoradoWinePress says:
    Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10:00 am
    James - Summary: Corked Cos, Poyferre and Giscours were stunning, Ducru and LLC were very good, Baron, Pichon didn't do it for me. I through a Napanook and a Colorado cab into the mix and surprisingly the group (Stickman was there) picked these two in our top three. I posted brief notes in the forum, but here is the link to my blog: http://www.coloradowinepress.com/2012/01/who-says-colorado-doesnt-produce-some.html
  11. marcrobillard says:
    Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 9:14 am
    '04 update here; Tonight is herb and mustard encrusted rack of lamb. Did not go for the Cos but started with Ch. Pipeau St-Emilion which is good but not great. Again... Dusty tannins and a litlle hallow despite it's decent lenght and nice nose.
    Then the dinner wine which I am still sipping. The Lagrange '04 is absolutely beautiful. It's really come around since I last had it a year ago.
    It is so perfectly balanced and integrated now that one might even oversee its depth. Wonderful wine. Forget a score, For me. this is classic Bordeaux. Drink up !
  12. James Suckling says:
    Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 10:24 am
    I brought a bottle of 2004 Leoville Poyferre to Penang, Malaysia, for dinner tonight. I will post note. Start posting your notes on 2004 with scores and we can compare. I will say if agree or not and may be even edit them....
  13. James Suckling says:
    Monday, February 13, 2012 at 4:09 pm
    Drank the 2004 Leoville Poyferre last night. It was really soft and silky with a lead pencil, currant and blueberry character. Subtle and refined. Delicious now. 91 points
  14. ColoradoWinePress says:
    Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 6:32 am
    James - I thought you might be more interested in an unheralded wine/region that held its own with some top-notch Bordeaux!