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La Réserve de Léoville Barton 2004, photo taken in our Amsterdam backyard

Bordeaux 2004 revisited
Tasting notes from 2006 and later

How is the Bordeaux 2004 vintage evolving?

When I decided to create this new Bordeaux 2004 revisited page (in October 2007), I had to go back to a heap of tasting notes from the last year. Some are more detailed, some are very short. And unfortunately I sometimes didn't take a note at all. Anyhow, I will present here all notes I found, be it short or long. The notes from October 2007 onwards I will give a little more attention, knowing now that I will publish these on Bordoverview. And I will add a rating to these new notes.

June 2008 Château L'Argenteyre 2004, Médoc
Dark. Modern, lots of extraction, overoaked to me. Lots of dark ripe fruit, good acidity. Plenty of people will like this wine, but it is not what I like. Lacks refinement. 6,5/10

May 2008 Château La Tour de By 2004, Médoc
Open and expressive. Oak rather dominant in the nose, but not of the tarty-vanilla-fat-new-oak kind, but the slightly more modest classy stuff. In the mouth smooth, with plenty of body but not heavy. Some bay leaves. Sappy dark, black cabernet fruit. Masculin, hearty finish. 8/10

... and a few months without 2004s ...

Dec 2007 La Closerie de Camensac 2004, Haut-Médoc, 2nd wine of Château Camensac
Dark. Ripe spicy fruit. Strong, actually somewhat ponderous. Lacks refinement. 6,5/10

Dec 2007 La Parde de Haut-Bailly 2004, Pessac-Léognan, 2nd wine of Château Haut-Bailly
Scent of rose hip, hint of Crème de Cassis, quite ripe (thus). Smooth wine also, but with quite some strength also. Good grip, pleasant texture. Finish with chalky fruit and chewy ripe tannins. Good acidity. Lovely wine. 8/10

Dec 2007 Frank Phélan 2004, Saint-Estèphe, 2nd wine of Château Phélan-Segur
Fresh red fruit, classic impression. Nose a bit closed. Slender, straight up. Youthful quite powerful fruit. Modest structure. Some pleasant seduction in the finish... 8/10

Dec 2007 Château Belle-Vue 2004, Haut-Médoc
Nicely polished nose. Fruit and a hint of vanilla. Pleasantly filling and spicy in the mouth. Some cream, some (but plenty of) acids. 7,75/10

Nov 2007 Château Gigault Cuvée Viva 2004, Premières Côtes de Blaye
Very dark wine, purple-black, not to be read through. Concentrated sweet-ripe nose. Slight impression of alcohol (13,5%). Spontaneous ripe fruit is the dominant thing. Concentration is also exhibited at the first oral encounter, but it is not too high — the texture is even quite smooth for a wine with such strength. The other aspect that stands out are the firm — and beautiful — acids, ensuring spirit. Very welcome besides the big ripe fruit. Then: bay leaves. And good chewy tannins. In this stage the wine's attraction particularly is its impressive fruit, its vitality. Straightforward character. Another Stéphane Derenoncourt achievement, who consults at Gigault for ambitious owner and wine merchant Christophe Reboul-Salze. 7,75/10.

Oct 2007 Château Larcis Ducasse 2004, Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Emilion
Impression I. Dark wine with a dark-fat nose, clearly quite some concentration. The just opened bottle exhibits firmness, a wine with a bite, with tough acids. And yet the texture of the Larcis Ducasse is — already — fairly soft. Impression II. Wine has breathed and warmed up a bit (it came straight from the cellar). Nose is showing seductive, vital red fruit — depth with some nice cassis-alike sweetness. Intense. On the palate the wine has gotten more and more unctuous, but with good grip. It is rich, 'well-filled' and quite powerful, without being harsh. The acids nicely kick in as the finish commences. I would not call this wine elegant, or utterly refined. This is what I would define as very attractive youthful strength. Absolutely delicious. 8,5/10. For more information about this wine also see my Blog (posting 26 Oct).

Sep 2007 Château Clos Chaumont 2004, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux
Surprisingly good wine! Needs some air-time, but after a little while it presents itself as a very complete and elegant wine. Shows character (terroir). This note is written down weeks after tasting, and I will soon taste again, and write a more accurate tasting note.

Sep 2007 Château Cos Labory 2004, Saint-Estèphe
OK wine, didn't leave behind a deep impression. Have some more bottles waiting, I will retaste, and then describe the wine a little more precise...

Aug 2007 Château Ferrière 2004, Cru Classé de Margaux
Fine agile Bordeaux with a distinct oak-nose. That aspect makes me think (in this particular case, and for this particular element) of some Spanish produce. Structure: fine, and the wine is smooth. Quite elegant, good balance and pleasant acids. Altogether a pleasing wine. Maybe even a little bit sexy.

Aug 2007 Château Joanin-Bécot 2004, Côtes de Castillon
Totally different from the Ferrière, but also successful. Has more body, and is more of a peasant-wine without being rustic. On the contrary, this is a modern wine. Some tannins, and a trace of sweetness. Zesty, and well-interwoven oak. Tough and good. Complete. Original.

Aug 2007 Château d'Aiguilhe 2004, Côtes de Castillon
Good wine. I forgot why. Will retaste, it's a shame.

Aug 2007 Clos Floridène 2004, Graves
Very good wine. Lost the details, but I remember its beautiful harmony. A paragon of a great Bordeaux.

Aug 2007 Château la Bienfaisance 2004, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Good to very good wine. Pure, slender, elegant. Want to encounter this drinkable wine again!

May 2007 La Réserve de Léoville Barton 2004, Saint-Julien, 2nd wine of Château Léoville Barton
Powerful nose, crisp chalky fruit. Good acids. Very vital. Lingering fruity finish. See the big picture: I took this photo in our sunny Amsterdam backyard. The label with the head of the wild boar is based on the beautiful label of the Grand Vin that was used from 1929 to 1960. Different from today's label of the second wine is that on the original label a special typography was used in the style of the applied arts from the 20's and 30's. It is really too bad (and I think commercially not very smart) that this original label is not used anymore for the Grand Vin.

7 Apr 2007 Clos Badon Thunevin 2004, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Tasted together with Jean-Luc Thunevin (in the garden of his house in the center of Saint-Emilion) and Alain Gauthier, friend of Jean-Luc and owner of Château Ausone (some small Saint-Emilion property) - tasted right after an impressive 2005... The 2004 note: Distinct wood, less fruit. A little tangy. Tannins are quite dominant. Neverthesless, a very intens wine.

5 Apr 2007 Château Lalande Borie, La Croix de Beaucaillou & Château Ducru Beaucaillou 2004, Saint Julien
Short notes, all taken right after having tasted the 2005's...
Château Lalande Borie: terroir-manure, a little tangy, fruit less expressive than the 2005
La Croix de Beaucaillou: oak-terroir, lacks some material in the middle... (palate)
Château Ducru Beaucaillou: wood-impression, power, classic wine
Well, I am aware that I come across a little spoilt with these brief notes. I took these notes during a lunch at Château Ducru Beaucaillou, a/o with Bruno Borie (owner of the château) and his sister Sabine Borie-Coiffe. The 2004 Ducru Beaucaillou for example not only had to compete with the 2005, but also with a very impressive 1995.

2 Apr 2007 Vieux Château Palon 2004, Montagne Saint-Emilion
Overtoasted, almost a Chardonnay. Brrr.

2 Apr 2007 Château Grand-Maison 2004, Côtes de Bourg
Animal nose, somewhat strange, but interesting. And as a matter of fact quite nice.

2 Apr 2007 Château Poitevin 2004, Haut-Médoc
Manure, oaky, enticing. Mouth full of big wine. Smooth.

8 Mar 2007 Château Cap de Faugères 2004, Côtes de Castillon
Full red inclining to purple. Impression in the nose: pure maybe even "tough" dark young fruit. Special: this dark fruit also has some green tones. And this makes the wine more tight, or concise, which is nice. Kind of fruit: dark berries, maybe even cherries. A great nose altogether. Beautiful concentration on the palate, nice texture, a tangy wine, firm with lots of character (terroir). Good acidity. Very vital, spontanuous, forward.

9 Feb 2007 Château d'Aurilhac 2004, Haut-Médoc
Unctuous fruit, slightly perfumed. Little sweet, skeleton quite light. Tannins.

9 Feb 2007 Château Potensac 2004, Médoc
As more 2004's this wine has dairy-alike sweetish fruit (nose). Velvetly. On the palate one senses young powerful fruit, with a promising future ahead. Racy. Good acidity. Deep-sweet-red fruit. Chalky (or if you want dairy-alike) tannins. Nice!

9 Feb 2007 Château Charmail 2004, Haut-Médoc
Dark and concentrated looks. Unless some sweetness in the nose this wine (still) shows some hard edges, seems somewhat locked up. Palate with much concentration, firm acids and grainy tannins. Young, and difficult at this moment.

9 Feb 2007 Château Corbin 2004, Grand Cru Classe de Saint-Emilion
Dark. Sweetness of dairy and raspberries. Without any question a very accessible and inviting wine. Soft. Smooth dark-sweet in the mouth, but also plenty of acids for the necessary balance. Finish: (still) some drying tannins. Good wine, type "no-nonsense".

7 Feb 2007 Baron de Brane 2004, Margaux, 2nd wine of Château Brane-Cantenac
Bright dark red wine. Nose: gentle sweet-red fruit. Wine is open and direct, inviting. Dairy-alike tones. Nice concentration in the mouth. Lively lean, sweetish and forward fruit, and lively acids. Quite soft structure. Not yet fully opened. Has future, and actually shows some power; somewhat tangy finish.

25 Jan 2007 Les Hauts du Tertre 2004, Margaux, 2nd wine of Château du Tertre
Purple cherish-fruit. Inclined to move to inkiness. Hint of sweetness in the nose. Dark tones, quite polished wine. Easy to drink.

17 Jan 2007 Les Colombiers de Feytit-Clinet 2004, Pomerol, 2nd wine of Château Feytit-Clinet
Clear red. Quite some vanilla in the nose, and quite creamy in the mouth, and powerful after the Chante Alouette. Acids, smooth, quite soft. Pleasant texture. Very accessible modern Bordeaux. Almost slick. Not refined.

17 Jan 2007 Château Chante Alouette 2004, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Clear purple-red. Some sweetness in the nose, and some (new?) oak. Friendly red fruit. Easy and light, good acids. Pleasant, but not great.

24 Dec 2006 Château Cap Saint-Martin 2004, Premières Côtes de Blaye
Young and light, accessible, not very special. But OK.

22 Dec 2006 Château Notton 2004, Margaux, 3rd wine of Château Brane-Cantenac
Dark and purple. Delicious cool fruit, very light hint of sweetness. Good fresh dark fruit. Smooth, and a joy to drink; rather soft in the mouth. Kind of wine that most people will like.

21 Nov 2006 Château du Tertre 2004, Cru Classé de Margaux
Closed nose. Young concentrated fruit. Tannins — good but still very young.

12 Oct 2006 Château Fourcas-Dupré 2004, Listrac
Fierce thing, were we killing a baby?

5 Oct 2006 Château Bernadotte 2004, Haut-Médoc
Mwôah, still very young (of course), strong impression of liquorice.

28 Sep 2006 Château Cambon la Pelouse 2004, Haut-Médoc
Pleasant, friendly. Couldn't make more of this after a long day of hard work at Du Tertre.

This Bordeaux Primeurs overview is put together by David Bolomey.
During first weeks the lists are continuously updated.
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