2004 BURGUNDY GRAND CRU DINNER - Holland Park (30/3/2017)
2004 was the latest in our series of vintage horizontals, having already done most of the modern vintages from the mid-1990s onwards.
This was a controversial vintage plagued by very difficult growing conditions. With odium, ladybugs and grey, wet weather most summer long to contend with, many of the vignerons were less than positive with the raw material in the barrels – the wines seemed to lack the weight and ripeness to complement the bright, cool acidity that marked almost of them. Just the exact opposite of the super-hot 2003 vintage that Burgundians had to struggle through just a year ago. One wonders what the winemakers must have thought then, having to struggle with two diametrically opposed, and very difficult harvests in a row. To compound it all, just as the wines finished their malolactic fermentations and started putting on more pleasing flesh and tone, the worse part of the vintage reared its head - for some mysterious reason (most now think it was crushed ladybugs in the must) many of the reds seemed to pick up a nasty green twang. Different descriptors have been used over the years – vegetal, stalky, herbal, green meanies etc etc. To me, the smell of a 2004 on release always reminded me of traditional Chinese herbal remedies from my youth, with raw ginseng and angelica root, mixed with bits of alfafa sprouts. Not very pleasant, and all this led to pundit pilloring the vintage as being the worse in many years.
However, this impression has really started to change in recent times. The wines did unexpectedly well in the bottle – quickly putting on more pleasing weight, with the acidities integrating nicely. Most importantly though, just as mysteriously as the green streak appeared in their youth, we also noticed it fading substantially in quite a few bottles from around 4-5 years back.
This then was an interesting opportunity to taste through a good selection of 2004s from a variety of different makers and terroirs. We had wines that were whole cluster, and others that were destemmed entirely; some from makers that picked within the normal time frame, others who waited until later; some who extracted more, and others that were less interventionists. All in all, tonight provided a good snapshot of how the vintage had developed, and of course, went some way to answer the question in everyone’s minds – had the green meanies really gone away
From our limited sample on the night - they have, to a large extent. And even where certain wines still remain green, I am now beginning to think that they too will clean up nicely with time. What we were left with were some really charming wines. They certainly lacked the weight and plushness of stronger vintages, but these were really easy-going, enjoyable drinks, with nice purity and terroir expression wed to soft, velvety tannins and a pleasing freshness. By way of illustration, while many of the 2003s that we had in the last dinner were more “impressive” wines, I felt that the 2004 wines were just more Burgundian, and I enjoyed the night more on the whole. I would be remiss not to add that many the wines did feel a bit soft, lacking the definition and focus of other high-acid vintages like 1996 and 2001, but these have also come around a lot faster and are definitely ready to drink now, whereas I would still wait on some of the very best ‘96s and ‘01s. All in all, while clearly not a vintage for the long-term, I now would have little hesitation in back-filling 2004s at the right price and popping them for immediate drinking pleasure.
APETISERS
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2009 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Atypically ripe and creamy, but this is nevertheless a solid Chablis 1er Cru that will age nicely with time. The nose smelt really young, with primary notes of green apple lined with a touch of spicy new oak and a bit of green herb. It was still noticeably Chablissienne though, with flinty mineral and little saline tones coming out with time. The chalky, stony Chablis minerality comes out quite beautifully on the palate, running through an otherwise creamy mouthful ripe, fleshy white fruit, with another dose of sweet oak at the finish. There was tons of power here, with the wine coming across as that just that bit obvious in its youth. Thankfully though, everything was still kept nicely controlled and focused by its lovely spine of minerality and some surpriginsly decent acidity for the vintage. A strong showing. I have seen comments suggesting that this wine is aging prematurely fast, but the particularly bottle could have easily gone on for another 10 years - and it probably needed the age too. (92 pts.) -
2004 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne
I was very taken by this. I have not always been a greatest fan of Ruinart’s wines, but this one was brilliant, harnessing the best qualities of the superb 2004 vintage. It had a lovely, expressive nose, with mineral and smoke and yeast floating about fleshy white fruit aromas. The palate showed lovely balance and poise, with the power in its white fruited Chardonnay tones tempered by a lovely clarity and precision, all this couched in a fine mousse and some beautifully integrated acidity, with a touch of stony minerality trailing away in the finish. A wonderfully fine, complex package. Drinking nicely now, with lots of promise to for the future. (93 pts.)
CLOS ST JACQUES
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2004 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
A great start - this has blossomed into a lovely Clos St Jacques over the years, and it is just starting to sing right now. It had a lovely nose, no green meanies here, just a slight lifted note of toasty, brambly herb swirling around a strong core of dark cherries, earth and spice. Arresting stuff. The palate was lovely too - pure, strong and powerful, with dark cherry fruit filling the mouth on the attack before meatier, earthier notes and a stream of spice and mineral came out on the midpalate and beyond. There was wonderful clarity and grace to the wine, with a depth of juicy goodness to its fruit that was just starting to flower amidst the more reticent notes of a youthful CSJ. Lovely finish too, with bloom of lush fruit alongside the spicier nuances. A very classy wine that will show really well over the next few years. (94 pts.) -
2004 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St. Jacques Vieille Vigne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
A decent enough wine, but rather lacking the usual quality of Fourrier’s CSJ; this was also very much put in the shade by a lovely bottle of 2004 Rousseau Jacques that we had alongside. It had a really sweet, almost slightly candied nose, with strawberry gummies and raspberry ripple aromas along with a nicely floral perfume. Almost Chambolle-like, with no green in sight. It would have been very attractive if not for the slightly distracting over-sweetness. The palate was clearly no Chambolle though, in fact coming across a tad clumsy and inelegant when put next to the lovely Rousseau CSJ, with little powdery tannins leaving a rather rustic sense of structure behind almost burly flavours of black cherries underpinned by a firm, slightly hard spine of the terroir’s wet stony mineral. I liked the clarity and freshness of this, and it had a good length, with a little kiss of spice trailing into a slightly bitter snap at the finish, but it did all feel a bit rustic next to the every-so-polished Rousseau. Decent enough, and it will probably improve over the next few years, but I am not confident this will ever be a great wine. (91 pts.)
ROUSSEAU GRAND CRUS
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2004 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des Ruchottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru
One of the few wines that still showed a clear tinge of greenness, but this was pleasurable nonetheless. The nose was were the green came out most, with leafy vegetable notes and a touch of raw woodiness shading more perfumed red fruit and flower aromas underneath. Just a bit distracting I thought. The palate was a lot better thankfully. It had very lifted acidity that lent its red fruited notes of sweet raspberries and strawberries a lovely purity. With time, a lovely
of spice also started blooming beyond the midpalateh. Unfortunately, there was just a hint of bitter herb and drying tannins that left the finish awkwardky truncated, awkward at finish; otherwise, this was a very pleasurable wine that it probably drinking near peak. (92 pts.)
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2004 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin-Clos de Bèze - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru
A dream showing - this displayed the very best qualities of the 2004 vintage, while eschewing all the worse. It had a lovely Clos de Beze nose of warm spice and lovely red fruit touched carassed by savoury wafts of earth and meat, with just a tiny hint of herb on the sides being the only nod to the vintage. The palate was absolutely beautiful - a complete package of elegance, strength and power, with full, generous flavours of cherries and berries draped in a really refined, elegant structure of the silkiest tannins and fine acidity. Gorgeous. Super-long finish too, with spice and earth, and again just a tiniest touch of herb at the end. Amazing stuff, drinking deliciously now, but with the structure and depth to do even better in a couple of years’ time. (95 pts.)
PONSOT GRAND CRUS
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2004 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru
One of a pair of very enjoyable 2004 Ponsot Grand Crus, this started with a lovely nose of spice and leather aromas weaving their way through ever-so-slightly stewed notes of dark cherries, plums and berries, all patted down with a tiny touch of earthy funk. A very warm and generous bouquet. The palate was very good too. A touch rustic structurally, wiith gritty tannins in the background, but this absolutely filled the mouth with lots of Grand Cru substance and depth in its dark cherry and berry flavours lined with touches of bramble and herb, and a nutty coffee bean twang into a long, powerful the finish - unusual weighty and complex for a Griotte I thought. Very yummy, even if just a bit rougher than I would have like in terms of structure. This is drinking well now, and will continue to do so over the next few years. (93 pts.) -
2004 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
A lovely wine - this was very fine for a Ponsot Clos de la Roche. It had an interesting nose, slightly nutty I thought, like unroasted Brazil nuts maybe, before more typical notes of ripe dark cherry and wild berry emerged alongside spicy, meaty, rather funky undertones. The nuttiness never quite blew off, but the sweeter ripe fruit notes blossomed more and more with time, making for a very characterful, and quite beautiful bouquet. It was very satisfying on the palate too. Like the nose, it was quite evovled and drinking very nicely, with a little hint funk floating amidst really nice flavours of dark cherry, earth and mineral, all held together with a lovely freshness. Like the Griotte-Chambertin that precded it, this too had touch of firmness noticeable firmness as it moved into a really juicy and clear finish of some length. I thought the tannins were far finer here than on the Gevrey though. This was very good indeed, and probably needed some time in the bottle still. While the Griotte seemed a bit readier on the night, I think this was clearly overtake it with time. 93+ (93 pts.)
A PAIR FROM CHAMBOLLE
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2004 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Very good indeed. The nose showed typical Groffier sweetness, with ripe dark cherries and blueberries touched with a bit spice, earth and mineral, then something slightly sauvage and furry, all coming together to make a masculine and attractive bouquet. The greener, more herbal or brambly aromas from a bottle drank 4 years ago had more of less dissappeared here, which was nice to note. The palate had a really good sense of fullness and power to it for a 2004, but also a nice midpalate clarity to its blueberry and black cherry flavours wed to a mouthfilling flush of earth and spice. Like some of the other wines on show, the vintage showed up in the rather firmer, slightly bittersweey and brambly end. That was probably the only down point of the wine for me. Otherwise, this was very nice and firing on all cyliners on the night. A yummy drink. (93 pts.) -
2004 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru
Not up there with Mugnier’s very best examples from Musigny, but this was nevertheless an absolutely lovely wine, and drinking wonderfully at the moment as well. The nose did feel slightly green and herby, more so than many of the other 2004s on show, but this was wrapped up in a full, generous bouquet of blueberries ringed with a beautiful perfume of lovely florals and whiffs of smokiness. It was such a powerful bouquet that I though the greener inflections added interest, rather than distracted from the whole. It was beautiful on the palate too - very Musigny in character I thought, absolutely complete and full, and wonderfully inetgrated, so that it felt like many complex notes - blueberries and spice and meat and earth - all wrapped up and melded into one solid beam of flavour that filled the mouth right from the attack and all the way into a super-long finish. In true Mugnier fashion though, this was always a wine of purity and grace in spite of its great depth and generosity, with a wonderful clarity glowing through its fruit expression. Tannins were soft and silky, but the wine was carried nicely by the fine acidity of the vinatge. Like the nose, there was a just a touch of something green here - capsicum I thought - but it was more or a subtle highlight around the egdes of the palate that reminded you of that this was from 2004, rather than a real distraction. All in all, a beautiful wine, drinking wonderfully now. (94 pts.)
FURTHER SOUTH
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2004 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
I always thought Anne Gros made one of the better Clos Vougeot bottlings, and this was a solid example without quite hitting the heights. This bottle had lovely stylings and a great sense of quality, but was also a bit hard and less pleasant towards the finish. I got a feel that it could have been a truly great wine, but that the vintage characteristics were just not handled perfectly, resulting in an almost-but not-quite-there experience. It had such a great nose though - spice licorice and fragrant earth on top of rich black cherries and plums; heady stuff. On first sip, the palate felt very pure, with a lovely clarity and grace showing through otherwise ripe flavours of black cherries and blackberries with just the lightest kiss of green at the very edges. Like much of what Anne Gros produces, there was a noticeably rich ripeness to this all, but the wine was always kept lively and focused by a great undercurrent of fresh acid and some fine tannins leading into a spicy finish spiked with a hint of herb. It was at this point when the wine became a bit less pleasant to drink though - the structure suddenly seized-up and became a tad hard and firm, with the more extracted style of the wine coming out quite poorly when married to the rather woody tannins of the vintage. Pity, because this would otherwise have been quite special. Overall though, a really good drink, showing nicely on the day. (93 pts.) -
2004 Sylvain Cathiard Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
Corked!! How tragic. Cathiard RSV. Cherries and spice and flowers everywhere, with a noticeable purity and power along with a nice fullness on the palate, but all this scalped by cardboardy TCA. So sad. NR (flawed) -
2004 Domaine René Engel Grands-Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru
How absolutely brilliant. The last wine of the night, and one of the very best amidst a very strong field. I always thought that the late Philippe Engel’s Grands-Echezeaux were head-and-shoulders above his other wines, and this bottle showed just how. The nose showed a lovely panoply of complex aromas, from hints of boiled herb, to spice and earth, and then sweet dark berries - a very masculine and attractive bouquet. The palate felt remarkably complete for a 2004 wine, with a yummy fullness to its flavours of sweet dark cherries and blackberries spirnkled with a little spice. It had a great long finish too, with the fruit showing a gummy purity as it glowed alongside earthier notes of chalky mineral and and some white meat. Absolutely gorgeous. This was drinking beautifully, but has the freshness to last for a long time yet. 2004 was the last vintage made by Philippe Engel, and this was surely a fitting tribute to the legacy of his house in the history of modern Burgundy. (95 pts.)
WHITE WITH CHEESE TO END
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2004 Domaine Ramonet Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Super. From magnum, it felt a bit tight when first poured early in the evening, but this was singing by the time cheese was served at the end of dinner. There was lots of complexity on the nose - spice and earth, and cream and nuts, and chalky mineral, all weaving their way through a core of light white fruited notes. Lovely stuff. The palate was just lovely to drink - this married both power and purity, with a nice round fullness to its sweet ripe apples and melons, yet also with a lovely fresh, almost lifted feel, lent to it by line of bright acidity that traced the sweeter tones all the way into a long finish, full of clear fruit riding on nice stony mineral undertow. A very clean, clear, elegant expression of the vineyard, yet with no lack of delicioussness - I really liked this. While it will certainly last in the magnum format, I see no reason to delay drinking this at all. (94 pts.)
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