Showing 1-22 out of 22 items
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Chateau Lynch-Bages,
Ready, but will keep,
This the pure essence of Pauillac: profound, ripe cassis aromas flow from the glass and herald a palate of cool, spicy, incredibly concentrated blackcurrants, and cream, vanilla and bitter dark chocolate all tightly woven together in a precise core. Lynch-Bages has again performed as well as many of the super-Second Growths.
Chateau Montrose,
Ready, but will keep,
Château Montrose has a lot to live up to after their 2003. This year they felt they have produced 'just' a very good wine, not dissimilar in style to thier 1996. WIth 64% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend this is a powefully structured Montrose.
Opaque and black-red in colour, the nose shows deep bitter chocolate and spicy red berry fruit aromas. The flavours reminded one of thickly textured, fresh savoury fruits and there was a wonderful balance of racy acidity and firm tannins. It is a superb follow-on to the 2003.
Opaque and black-red in colour, the nose shows deep bitter chocolate and spicy red berry fruit aromas. The flavours reminded one of thickly textured, fresh savoury fruits and there was a wonderful balance of racy acidity and firm tannins. It is a superb follow-on to the 2003.
Chateau Leoville Las Cases,
Ready, but will keep,
Performing better from bottle than it did from cask, this blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc has put on weight over the last year. It exhibits the classic style of both Las Cases and St.-Julien in its deep black currant notes interwoven with sweet cherries, wet stones, and toasty vanillin. Made in a structured, medium to full-bodied style with superb concentration, beautiful purity, and admirable symmetry, this beauty is one of the strongest efforts of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028. Also tasted: 2004 Clos du Marquis (88)
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 29/06/2007
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 29/06/2007
Chateau Gruaud Larose,
Drink now,
Fantastic! Jean Merlaut's ownership since 1997 has seen these wines get better and better, culminating in this tour de force. Smoky ripe blackcurrants and sexy integrated sweet oak on the enticing nose is followed by a dense but pure palate with full-bodied fruit and a defined linear core. It is elegant and sophisticated with great charm-one of the great value wines of the 2004 vintage.
"Intriguing, complex nose with layers of black and red fruit and toasted oak, tobacco, spice and alluring minerals. Beautifully textured with an airy lift and vitality."
Decanter-Dec 2007- Wines of the Year
"Intriguing, complex nose with layers of black and red fruit and toasted oak, tobacco, spice and alluring minerals. Beautifully textured with an airy lift and vitality."
Decanter-Dec 2007- Wines of the Year
Chateau Calon Segur,
Ready, but will keep,
"..This 2004 comes across like their 1988. An unusually high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) was blended with 30% Merlot, resulting in a dense ruby/purple-colored, slightly herbaceous Calon-Segur possessing a tapenade/olive characteristic along with plump, rich black cherries, truffles, underbrush, and black currants. Medium to full-bodied with plenty of sweet tannin, excellent purity, and a broad mouthfeel. It will require 3-4 years of cellaring, and should keep for two decades."
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr-2005
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Apr-2005
Chateau Lagrange,
Ready, but will keep,
"A dense ruby/purple color and a heady, vibrant, crunchy (what the French would call croquant) fruitiness (raspberries and cherries) along with spicy oak and herb notes emerge from this medium-bodied, moderately tannic 2004. Drink it over the next 12-14 years." 88-90 points. (Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Jun-2006)
Chateau Palmer,
Ready, but will keep,
"This stunning wine is one of the vintage's great successes. Administrator Thomas Duroux has fashioned a modern day version of Palmer's brilliant 1966. Displaying a rare combination of power and elegance, this dense purple-colored offering exhibits notes of blackberries, truffles, flowers, incense, and camphor. Long, classic, and medium to full-bodied with stunning texture and richness, this superb effort is a candidate for the finest Margaux of the vintage."
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - 30-Jun-2007
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - 30-Jun-2007
Chateau Haut-Brion,
Ready, but will keep,
Winemaker/administrator Jean Delmas considers this to be his best wine since 2000. Only 55% of the production - a blend of 61% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Cabernet Franc - has gone into the hedonistic Grand Vin. Enticing aromas of ripe, spicy plums and raisins with nuances of tobacco, minerals and vanilla entice you to take a sip. It is completely delicious, with notes of Swiss chocolate, sweet fruit, toast and cinnamon spice and fine tannins. An exceptionally pure, round and extremely polished wine.
Chateau Leoville Barton,
Ready, but will keep,
Anthony Barton was not over-estimating this wine when he compared it to his outstanding 1996 - it is unquestionably of super Second Growth quality. With its more masculine style, this is always the star performer of the Barton brace and the 2004 expresses all that is best about this aristocratic estate. The nose is very fine and displays multi-faceted, lively fruit characteristics.The palate is dense with delicious, ripe, complex blackcurrant fruit and a fabulous, long, cool finish. This is a resounding success for the Barton family and is undoubtedly one of the star wines of the vintage.
Chateau Margaux,
Ready, but will keep,
With as much Merlot in the blend as the 1990 and 1996 the quality of this wine is as good as any vintage that winemaker Paul Pontallier can remember. When we tasted the 2004 Ch. Margaux we found it to be as fabulous and exciting as the 2000 had been at a similar stage. The nose was simply beautiful - ripe, fine sweet, elegant and powerful with huge potential. The palate is expansive and multi-faceted. Alongside Latour, this is one of the two wines of the vintage.
Chateau Latour,
Ready, but will keep,
This sensational Latour left us totally speechless when we tasted it - a monumental task indeed when Berrys' Sales Director Simon Staples is present. The 2004 has the highest ever percentage of Cabernet (90%) in the final blend - usually it's around 80% - and is one which Director Frédéric Engerer likens to their astonishing 1996. The nose is dense and intense with deep black fruits yet without clumsiness or over extraction - just defined, cool and precise. The palate is powerful and majestic with its sweet raspberries and licorice following through to an indecently long finish. This Latour has great structure, great precision and is a great wine.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild,
Ready, but will keep,
Only 39% of production was used for the Grand Vin and with a whopping 90.5% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend (the balance being 9% Merlot and 0.5% Petit Verdot) the 2004 Lafite needed little introduction. This wine has one of the most exciting noses - intense, spicy, pure cassis and a generous helping of creamy vanilla. The palate is just as exciting, exhibiting terrific concentration and a hint of warm new oak which leads to an intense, linear core of lively blackcurrants and layers of intriguing minerality. The Cabernet was very evident on the finish with the variety's characteristically firm tannins taking over at the end, making this one for the long term.
Ready, but will keep,
Experts on the subject of soil will tell you that Haut Bailly boasts one of the finest terroirs in the Pessac-Leognan appellation. The wine made here has always been fine but in recent years it has reached a new level of excellence, rivalling some of the great Haut-Medoc Cab. Sauvignon-dominated wines. For me this new departure began with the 2004 vintage, not hailed as a great vintage in Bordeaux but bearing the hallmark of what the British call a "classic vintage", meaning a wine of finesse and elegance, with cool, sweet fruit supported by ripe tannins and balancing acidity. A joy to drink now and over the next 8 years.
Showing 1-22 out of 22 items
The result is a wine of great complexity, one of the very best in the appellation. The 2004 is rich in blackcurrant aromas, with plenty of tannin. It would partner sweet meat such as lamb, as well as hard cheeses such as Gruyère.