Bordeaux 2004 at Fifteen Years
Looking back to the Bordeaux vintages of the first decade of the 21st century, I don’t imagine 2004 would be anybody’s ‘go to’ year. The top three spots surely go to 2005, 2009 and either 2000 or 2010, depending on your preferred definition of when a decade starts and ends. The 2004 vintage would, I suspect, hover somewhere in the middle, denied a podium position but safe from embarrassment, unlike the decade’s weaker years which were surely 2007 and 2002. These two vintages trail in last, perhaps with 2003, your opinion on which will vary according to whether you have had more encounters with confident marathon-runners from St Estèphe or with the wines of Pessac-Léognan, some of which were wheezing and weary within just a year or two of having been bottled.
Middling vintages such as 2004 (others include 2006 and perhaps 2008) are always fun to explore, as quality can sometimes be surprisingly good. This small tasting of a dozen or so wines from this vintage certainly seems to reinforce this view. While some did seem a little leaner and more austere than I would have preferred, some really impressed with a reserved texture, sinew and an undeniable sense of classicism. These are good wines to have in the cellar, aging slowly, and aging well. Before I get to the wines though, just a few words on the growing season, and how the wines seemed in their youth.
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