2004 Italy
After the rain of 2002 and the excessive heat of 2003, all indications are that 2004 is a year to remember for all the right reasons for Italian wine.
A long, cold winter was followed by a cool Spring in the centre and north. Warm, but not too hot weather prevailed during the summer, leading on to a September and October with warm sunny days and cool nights, ideal for the long, slow ripening of wine grapes.
The results are fabulous in Tuscany with exceptional wines, likened to 1997 and 1999. Sangiovese is particularly successful across the region from Chianti Classico to Montalcino.
In the Veneto, the phenolic levels of ripeness in Valpolicella are very impressive, and it is a great vintage for Amarone.
Barolo & Barbaresco
A textbook growing season: a perfect fast flowering, fine summer if cooler than average August, the high quality Nebbiolo fruit was sealed by an exceptional September and October with warm dry days and cold nights allowing an extended `hang-time' and a later-than-average harvest, giving thicker skins and consequently bolder, riper tannins.
Indeed, to lovers of all fine wines, these Baroli and Barbareschi are structurally not a million miles away from the best of the classical Bordeaux 2004s, if with more stamina. Unlike the large production levels of Bordeaux however the quantities of Barolo and Barbaresco available are tear-jerkingly small. Built for the cellar, these wines should blossom from 2013 until 2024 and beyond.
Showing 1-21 out of 21 items
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
£329.94
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Luciano Sandrone,
Ready, but will keep,
The 2004 Barolo Le Vigne is one of the darkest, most intense Le Vignes I can remember tasting. In this vintage, the fruit is especially somber, the legacy of the late harvest season. Black cherries, plums, cinnamon, flowers, mint and leather meld together in a sumptuous, exceptionally polished Le Vigne that will continue to drink well for many years. Le Vigne is often slow to get out of the gate, which appears to be the case with the 2004 as well. 96/100
Antoni Galloni - Vinous - May 2015
Antoni Galloni - Vinous - May 2015
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Vigneti Luigi Oddero, Piedmont,
Ready, but will keep,
Compared to the satiny texture of Castiglione Falletto’s Rocche dei Rivera vineyard, Serralunga’s Vigna Rionda is all about crunchy fruit intensity, poise and presence!
There’s the hallmark red hue associated with Serralunga’s lofty vineyards; the tighter, sinewy grip that points to nutrient-poor, minerally-rich soils that are seemingly bleached white in the summer sun; the crunchy, tiny red berry energy, pace and persistence from perfect aspect, echoing Burgundy’s finest sites. If it seems aloof then that’s because it is: the village’s top vineyard. Give it time and space in a large decanter and who knows, it might even join the party! Drinking now but will improve/mellow further in bottle.
David Berry Green
There’s the hallmark red hue associated with Serralunga’s lofty vineyards; the tighter, sinewy grip that points to nutrient-poor, minerally-rich soils that are seemingly bleached white in the summer sun; the crunchy, tiny red berry energy, pace and persistence from perfect aspect, echoing Burgundy’s finest sites. If it seems aloof then that’s because it is: the village’s top vineyard. Give it time and space in a large decanter and who knows, it might even join the party! Drinking now but will improve/mellow further in bottle.
David Berry Green
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£580.00
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£270.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£275.00
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Roagna, Piedmont,
Ready, but will keep,
This wine is effectively the ‘Ca d’Morissio’ of the Roagna ‘stable’: combining power, grace and longevity. Located just below the Roagna cantina itself, up on the left, in the heart of the village of Barbaresco, Crichët boasts the Pajé vineyard’s oldest vines, all grassed over, that serve up pitifully small (Michet?) bunches of great natural concentration.
Unsurprisingly Luca and Alfredo only make c. 2000 bottles of this wine a year; the 2004 was aged for 8 years in large oak prior to bottling. I was fortunate to try the 2004 vintage on two occasions in spring/summer 2013. It was a classic vintage, in the mould of 1982, ’88, ’96…with decades ahead of it.
Tasted in June2013 the wine struck me for its herbal aromatics, iron-fisted power, strident character, while in July it showed a meatier side, still very serious, refusing to reveal itself, with a deep-seated, rosemary scented brooding persona. The 2001 tasted alongside seemed more succulent and slight by comparison, while the 1982 remains totally fresh and pinpoint.
David Berry Green
Unsurprisingly Luca and Alfredo only make c. 2000 bottles of this wine a year; the 2004 was aged for 8 years in large oak prior to bottling. I was fortunate to try the 2004 vintage on two occasions in spring/summer 2013. It was a classic vintage, in the mould of 1982, ’88, ’96…with decades ahead of it.
Tasted in June2013 the wine struck me for its herbal aromatics, iron-fisted power, strident character, while in July it showed a meatier side, still very serious, refusing to reveal itself, with a deep-seated, rosemary scented brooding persona. The 2001 tasted alongside seemed more succulent and slight by comparison, while the 1982 remains totally fresh and pinpoint.
David Berry Green
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Marcarini, Piedmont,
Ready, but will keep,
To Manuel Marchetti his 2004s Barolos remind him of 2001 or 1999, either way both excellent vintages for his pair of single vineyard wines. La Serra perches vertiginously below the walls of La Morra, Barolo's highest village lying directly across the valley from Monforte d'Alba. Compared to its sibling Brunate, La Serra's sandy marl soils and 13 year-old vines consistently deliver a more ethereal fruit character: the rich, taut black-strap molasses, floral, black cherry-stone conjures up visions of greatness, confirmed by a magnificent presence, sinewy, savoury & serious.
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
£550.00
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Giuseppe Mascarello e Figli,
Ready, but will keep,
Following up their particularly successful 2003s, Mauro and his son Giuseppe Mascarello have produced a dazzling 2004 Santo Stefano di Perno, a brilliant single-vineyard wine from the iron-rich sandstone and marl soils of Monforte d'Alba. Ribes leaf and sage-scented notes enthral the nose while the palate rings with lift and finesse. Wow!
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
£395.00
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Punset, Piedmont,
Ready, but will keep,
Bought straight from Punset’s cantina overlooking Neive, Marina’s 2004 Barbaresco San Cristoforo ‘Campo Quadro’ perfectly reflects this classic, slow-developing Nebbiolo vintage. It was a textbook season, coming after the baked 2003, with rain at regular intervals, giving classically ‘shaped’ Barbareschi and Baroli.
As you would hope this wine, the top of her range, commands a wonderful presence, with delicate tea leaf and almost iron-like depth. Clos de Vougeot-esque? It’s certainly very assured, complete, with a deep garnet colour, and generous with constant, savoury, salato (salty) red fruit. Very impressive, with beef.
David Berry Green
As you would hope this wine, the top of her range, commands a wonderful presence, with delicate tea leaf and almost iron-like depth. Clos de Vougeot-esque? It’s certainly very assured, complete, with a deep garnet colour, and generous with constant, savoury, salato (salty) red fruit. Very impressive, with beef.
David Berry Green
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£300.00
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Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
£1,650.00
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
£1,200.00
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£400.00
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Lisini, Tuscany,
Ready, but will keep,
Almost opaque and still very youthful looking, the nose is still dense and underdeveloped, but gives hints of the greatness to come, with its brooding dark cherry fruit.
The only word to describe this Brunello wine on the palate is massive; full bodied and spicy, packed with black and red cherry fruit, all tightly wound in a magnificent structure, fine tannins, mouth watering acidity and supporting alcohol, all in perfect balance. This is a monumental wine for the Cellar and will be magnificent in 2012-2014 and drink for a decade or two after that. A serious candidate for the best Ugolaia ever.
(Chris Pollington, Fine Wine Department)
The only word to describe this Brunello wine on the palate is massive; full bodied and spicy, packed with black and red cherry fruit, all tightly wound in a magnificent structure, fine tannins, mouth watering acidity and supporting alcohol, all in perfect balance. This is a monumental wine for the Cellar and will be magnificent in 2012-2014 and drink for a decade or two after that. A serious candidate for the best Ugolaia ever.
(Chris Pollington, Fine Wine Department)
New To BBX
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£500.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£600.00
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Roberto Voerzio,
Ready, but will improve,
Youthful colour, mint oil and truffle on the nose with dark cherry fruit. Palate has the characteristic gloss that you expect from Voerzio with the succulent but structured tannic grip and fresh acidity reigning it in beautifully. There are notes of black tea and a sauvage character that adds interest and length to the palate.
Matthew Tipping - Private Account Manager
Matthew Tipping - Private Account Manager
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£1,068.00
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Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£1,350.00
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New To BBX
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£130.00
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Giuseppe Mascarello e Figli,
Ready, but will keep,
The Chambolle-Musigny of Barolo, the village of Castiglione Falletto, blessed with calcareous soils and a warm microclimate, consistently produces some of the most velvety Baroli. None more so than Mauro and Giuseppe Mascarello's Monprivato vineyard: a perfectly exposed limestone sunbed giving the ripest, sweetest, headiest red fruit which will emerge one day into a thing of immense beauty.
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer
David Berry Green, Fine Wine Buyer
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£995.00
New To BBX
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
£1,200.00
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Showing 1-21 out of 21 items
Chris Pollington - Fine Wine Team