Fifteen Years On: The 2004 Vintage
Having taken a look at the 2004 vintage in the Loire Valley, and also 2004 in Bordeaux, I conclude my look at wines from this vintage with a small collection of tasting notes on other wines from other corners of the wine world, in particular Alsace, the Rhône Valley, Rioja and Chianti.
We start and end here with Alsace, kicking off with the 2004 Cuvée Frédéric Emile from Trimbach, which showed very well but which is still a mere adolescent. I enjoyed checking in on it at this stage, but the truth is if you only have a bottle or two you could leave these for another decade if not twice as long and be confident that they will evolve in a positive fashion. At the other end of the sugar spectrum the 2004 Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Vendange Tardive from Zind Humbrecht was divine, and is another wine which clearly has a very long life ahead of it.
In the middle of this Alsace sandwich come a bijou selection of wines from Rioja, Chianti and the Rhône Valley. This was a surprisingly consistent group of wines, with none failing to deliver on one way or another. The highlights for me were, in Rioja, the marvellous 2004 Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial and, in Chianti, the 2004 Domaine Tempier Bandol La Tourtine. Both showed great potential for future development, which was certainly a factor in determining my ratings. Almost all the wines here have yet more gas in the tank though, and I look forward to checking in on some of them again when they ready their twentieth birthday, alongside a few other bottles of Rioja I have not yet dared broach. (28/11/19)
