A lovely wine in an underappreciated vintage. This hits all the classic high end Bordelaise notes of clean cassis fruit, bits of graphite and a light and almost imperceptible bit of green pepper. The nose is complex and lush and beginning to reach maturity but quite a bit of fruit still remains. Decent core of acidity and tannins still not fully resolved suggest this will continue to age well, but this comes across really well for 12y old.
Thanks for sharing. I really like many 2004s. Recently had a most agreeable experience with the Leoville Barton.
+1 on the Leoville Barton. Duhart Milon is also drinking well. A recent Lynch Bages was great right out of the bottle but seemed to shut down after a few hours.
I’m another fan of the 2004 Leoville Barton. It was one of the best Bordeaux bargains going for a while. Great drinking now, showing a lot of mature complexity, while still having some youthful fruit left.
In general 2004 might be the best vintage of the aughts for drinking now, given that the most celebrated vintages are still so young. It is complex and classical like 2002 while having brighter and more generous fruit. Early maturing it seems but in a good way.
The “imperceptible bit of green pepper” is the very best kind.