On February 27, 2014, fourteen of us got together at Valentino Restaurant in Santa Monica to taste 28 of the top level 2004 red burgundies. Titled modestly as “2004 Red Burgundies – A Ten Year Review,” this tasting, on paper at least, aspired to include essentially all of the top 2004 red burgundies – deliberately excluding only DRC’s Romanée Conti.
The idea for this tasting can be credited to my friends Michael Zadikian and Ron Movich. Both of them have been regular attendees at the annual series of white burgundy vintage assessment and premox check dinners that I hold in Los Angeles every February-March. While we were discussing whether we should taste 2006 white burgundies this year, or skip the vintage and do something else, Ron suggested that we needed to taste the 2006s for at least historical completeness but that it made sense to limit the 2006 white burgundies to only one evening and consider having a tasting of red burgundies to replace one of the other dinners. Not long thereafter Michael suggested that I should host a dinner to look at the 2004 red burgundies and do it in essentially the identical format that we use for first two nights of the annual white burgundy assessment dinners, i.e. taste up to 28 bottles with a panel of 14 people and attempt to include all or nearly all of the consensus top wine candidates from designated villages and to both assess the vintage overall and determine whether and how badly the 2004 wines are affected by the so-called “green meanies.” I had a lot of the top 2004s myself and hadn’t tasted most of them yet and it seemed like an inspired idea. But I knew that some people who had been very disappointed with the 2004 reds on release had largely divested themselves of the 2004 vintage.
I then proposed the idea to some of the other regular attendees of the white burgundy events, and they were equally enthusiastic. When I presented the idea to Alan Weinberg to get his viewpoint, he said he thought it was a great idea and offered to bring the DRC La Tache and DRC Richebourg to cover himself and Jerry Hey. I then knew the idea was off to a flying start. As expected, some of the people who definitely wanted to attend the dinner had largely or entirely sold off their holdings from the 2004 vintage. As it turned out I supplied 13 of the 28 wines we tasted from my own cellar. But we ultimately did manage to come up with, what on paper at least, appeared to be 28 of the top 30 wines from the vintage – omitting only DRC Romanée Conti and Dugat-Py Chambertin.
Giuseppe Mollica and Piero Selvaggio of Valentino came up with some great food pairings for the wines and wine director Julian Zaragoza flawlessly handled the thirty different wines for the evening and the 420 stems requied.
Julian Zaragoza with some of the 420 stems for the tasting, readying the final flight of Vosne Romanee
I have to admit that I had very modest expectations for the 2004s. I had experienced a number of very green 2004 reds after the wines were initially released, so I feared it was inevitable that we were going to experience some horribly flawed wines, just as we always run into oxidized white burgundies. But I was really unprepared for how drinkable and pleasant virtually all of the wines were. Anyway, on to the wines…
Appetizer Course
Crudita Of Seafood, Veal Tonnato Tartare, Prosciutto With Burrata, Quail Egg with Black Truffle
1990 Alain Robert Les Mesnil Reserve (in magnum)
Fairly light gold color; citrus and brioche aromas; strong citrus and mineral flavors with a definite persistence on the minerality which is a bit unusual for most 1990s, which to me tend to be more fleshy wines; the finish had a high degree of minerality and some lemon crème. Superb wine at its peak and unfortunately my last magnum. Having had a few 750s recently those are definitely much more matue. 95
Flight One: Musigny (served single blind)
Agnollotti: Veal Ravioli With Brown Butter And Sage
This was absolutely perfect with the Musigny!
#1 [2004 Mugnier Musigny]
Medium red color; clean, cherry and light earth aromas – no off or “green” aromas; a very elegant wine with cherry flavors and a soft, viscous palate feel. Michael Zadikian said he found a very charming Jasmine aroma in the wine after about thirty minutes in the glass. For Musigny I would say is on the lighter side of medium bodied. After about two hours in the glass this wine seemed to be a bit deeper and a bit jammy. I liked it best with about one hour of air. A very nice but not great Mugnier Mus. I don’t see any real upside in continuing to age this wine. Group Rank: Tied for 21st, 0 pts 93
#2 [2004 Drouhin Musigny]
Medium red color; dried cherries and lightly earthy aromas – again, no green or off aromas; a good deal more intensity of flavor than No. 1 – whereas No. 1 was supremely elegant, No. 2 has fruit intensity and pretty amazing layering of flavors. A nice finish that I think will be even better with 3+ years of additional age. My favorite wine of this flight. Group Rank: Tied for 11th, 4 pts (0/0/0/2/0) 94+
#3 [2004 Roumier Musigny]
Very dark red color, unfortunately, very badly corked. When we tried to taste past the corkiness (with great difficulty) it was obvious that this was a wine of great power and depth. A real heartbreaker as I obtained only two bottles of this wine on release and they cost a fortune. Tied for 21st, 0 pts DQ-CORKED
#4 [2004 Leroy Chambolle Musigny]
Murky tawny red color with definitely brown edges; some intense strawberry or rhubarb aromas along with some slightly green herb aromas and brown spice – rhubarb may well be the most appropriate descriptor here. Michael Zadikian immediately said “Leroy” and everyone agreed. A much lighter wine than most of the wines in this flight; light strawberry or cooked rhubarb flavors and some brown spice background; modest finish. This is the one wine in the flight that several people noted had slight “greenness” in the aromas.) Group Rank: Tied for 21st, 0 pts 91
#5 [2004 Jadot Musigny]
Deep but clear red color; distinct “Smith Brothers” cherry cough drop aromas and nothing green in the slightest. This is a beautifully textured wine – long pure cherry flavors, with a light earth/brown spice background and considerable glycerol elegance. Nice finish. I liked this almost as much as No. 2 on the first taste, but No. 2 just kept improving all evening. Group Rank: 4th , (0/2/1/1/0) 13 pts 93
#6 [2004 Vogue Musigny VV]
Deep red color but with browning edges; some distinct morello cherry aromas but also some dusty character that reminded me very much of the dust of a Rutherford cabernet. Walker Strangis, sitting next to me, thought it more of a green herb note in the aromas but that didn’t carry through to the palate. On the palate, this had sweet, deep cherry fruit flavors with great intensity; a very nice finish. For me this was the third best wine of the flight and I would have been inclined to rate and rank it higher but for the slightly “dusty” character in the aroma. This was a somewhat controversial wine in this flight. Two people thought it had slightly green or herbal notes in the aromas and others disagreed and really liked the wine. Group Rank: Tied for 11th, 4 pts (0/1/0/0/1) 93
Flight Two: Bonnes Mares/Morey St. Denis (served single blind)
Pan Roasted Napa Quail “In Porchetta Tartufata”
Probably my favorite course of food over the two nights of dinners
#7 [2004 Roumier Bonnes Mares]
Medium red violet color but with slightly browning edges; at first not much showing in the way of aromas, but with about 20 minutes of air some pretty intense cherry and a little brown spice became apparent. Walker Strangis said he detected a some light green herb character here, but I did not. On the palate, this wine had some intense cherry fruit at the start but that was followed by a slightly vegetative character and some definite tannin (it is Bonnes Mares after all). After about two hours of air I liked this a little better and didn’t really find the veggie note. Group Rank: Tied for 9th, 5 pts (0/0/0/2/1) 92?
#8 [2004 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche]
Deep red-violet color, semi-opaque; allspice and earth aromas; very nice cherry flavors and distinct minerality on the palate; a long earthy/minerally finish. After about an hour however this seemed to get a bit sharp and tannic on the finish. This one may require some time. Group Rank: Tied for 11th, 4 pts (0/0/1/0/1) 93|92
#9 [2004 Bouchard Bonnes Mares]
Medium red color with bronze edges; some cherry and earth aromas; light sweet cherry fruit with considerable elegance – the lightest wine of the flight it seemed; soft cherry finish with a hint of minerals. (Walker Strangis thought this one had some green aromas and a touch of greenness on the palate). Group Rank: Tied for 21st , 0 pts 93
#10 [2004 Ponsot Clos de la Roche]
Very deep red color with lighter red edges; light cherry aromas with some coriander hints; medium concentration with a good core of cherry, nice acidity and definite minerality. When this was revealed I was a bit surprised, because it didn’t have the customary width and depth of Ponsot CDLR to me. Group Rank: 15th, 3 pts (0/0/1/0/0) 93
#11 [2004 Le Moine Bonnes Mares]
Super deep violet color, almost opaque; light “Smith Brothers” cherry cough drop aromas; intense and deep cherry flavors with light earth background tones, fabulous acidity and again real minerality on the palate. My clear favorite of this flight. Hubert Lignier? Group Rank: Tied for 9th, 5 pts (0/0/0/2/1) 94+
#12 [2004 Ponsot Clos St. Denis]
Very dark red color with lighter amber edges; a mix of red and blue fruit aromas; powerful sweet red and blue fruit flavors – real intensity here, but somewhat undeveloped – with some earth tones peeking through the cherry and really excellent acidity. A powerful wine even in the context of this flight. Maybe Ponsot? The intensity and the acidity makes me think this could improve with time. Group Rank: Tied for 21st, 0 pts 93+
#13 [2004 Vogue Bonnes Mares]
Very deep red color, some medium cherry aromas and almost brown spice (a couple of people said they picked up some slightly “green” notes in the aromas); powerful cherry and earth flavors but not a particularly complex wine, but had touch of elegance and a smoothness on the finish. Group Rank: Tied for 18th, 1 pt (0/0/0/0/1) 91
Flight Three: Gevrey Chambertin (served single blind)
Bison Filet With Red Wine Reduction
#14 [2004 Rousseau Chambertin]
Medium red color; some earth tones, Barbisol shaving cream and spearmint; very pleasant, forward, soft cherry fruit with sneaky acidity; overall the impression is well balanced, but a wine definitely on the lighter side of medium bodied. When this was revealed, I was amazed that it could be Rousseau as this just doesn’t have the usual depth or concentration. Not a great Rousseau at all in my view – It reminds me of the “shrinking” Rousseau Chambertins from 85, 88 and 90. I think some people’s “Top 5” votes were influenced by the fact that the label had been revealed earlier. Group Rank: 6th, 8 pts (0/1/0/1/2) 91
#15 [2004 Bouchard Chambertin Clos de Beze]
Medium red color; spicy aromas with some light cherry tones; some light cherry fruit with some spice, earth and lots of minerality and elegance on the finish. Another somewhat lighter styled Gevrey, but quite pleasant. Group Rank: Tied for 21st , 0 pts 92
#16 [2004 Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze]
Dark red color with lighter red edges; earth and cherry aromas; decent medium weight cherry and earth tones on the palate. Very well made wine but not particularly deep. Again, I was underwhelmed with Rousseau’s performance once this was revealed. Group Rank: Tied for 11th, 4 pts (0/0/1/0/1) 93
#17 [2004 Leroy Gevrey Chambertin]
A very murky tawny red color; forward strawberry jam or rhubarb aromas – definitely a hint of green herb or rhubarb here; one person thought there was some brett (I’m normally hyper-sensitive to brett, but I didn’t think it was brett); Alan Weinberg said he picked up a chemical note. Everybody agreed based on the aromas that this was Leroy. There was some very earthy, somewhat bitter red fruit here. Not at all impressive. Group Rank: Tied for 21st , 0 pts 88
#18 [2004 Roty Charmes Chambertin]
Dark red color; “Smith Brothers” dark cherry aromas with some caramel; a very pleasant, soft cherry and earth tones on the palate with modest weight and decent acidity. Just not a lot of depth here. A pleasant finish if not terribly long. Yet another Gevrey that reminds me more of a premier cru than a grand cru wine. Group Rank: 16th, 2 pts (0/0/0/1/0) 92
#19 [2004 Dugat-Py Charmes Chambertin]
Dark red color; earth and spice aromas with some light background cherry; on the palate there was a brief burst of cherry flavors and definite earth tones that were quickly squashed by notable finish tannins. Overall, the wine gave an impression of “flatness.” The tannins just kept a lid on this all night. I’m very dubious about this rounding out into a better wine. Group Rank: Tied for 21st , 0 pts 90
#20 [2004 Dugat-Py Mazis Chambertin]
Very deep red color; powerful cherries and background earth tones; there is a spicy red cherry character here, some more depth and intensity here than in the other wines in this flight. There is decent acidity, lots of elegance on the mid-palate and some cherry and spice on the finish but with noticeable finish tannins. I thought this was the best wine of the flight, but this was hands down the weakest flight of the dinner and it seems Gevrey is the clearly the poorest performer in the Cote de Nuits in 2004. (Alan Weinberg said that the didn’t think the wine was completely ripe and that there was a certain flatness on the finish again.) Group Rank: Tied for 18th, 1 pts (0/0/0/0/1) 93+?
Flight Four: Vosne Romanée (served single blind)
Colorado Lamb Chops With Bronte’s Pistachio Crust
Another amazingly tasty dish
#21 [2004 DRC Romanée St. Vivant]
Dark red-violet color; cherry and a hint of Vitamin B; this wine was a bit hard to decipher as it was very slow to reveal itself; plum pudding and asian spice – seems to have some depth and reserves here; still reasonably tightly coiled relative to most of the 2004s; a nice long plum/cherry/asian spice finish after about an hour of air. Group Rank: Tied for 16th, 2 pts (0/0/0/1/0) 94
#22 [2004 Leroy Vosne Romanée]
Murky red color; intense strawberry/earth or rhubarb aromas—again by acclamation this was identified as Leroy; this had the most depth and was the most pleasant of the three Leroy wines, but again its just strawberry jam and earth. Nothing like the typical Leroy and not worth buying or keeping. Group Rank: Tied for 18th, 1 pt (0/0/0/0/1) 92
#23 [2004 DRC Richebourg]
Dark red-violet color but clear; forward cherry and asian spice aromas; plum and asian spice with considerable depth and great texture; a powerful wine but with noticeable finish tannins. Definite improvement potential here. Group Rank: 5th, 10 pts (1/0/1/1/0) 93+
#24 [2004 DRC La Tâche]
Deep red color but clear; cherry and very subtle asian spice aromas with some rose petals indicating stems (DRC); very concentrated plum, slightly stemmy character that marks DRC and Dujac, asian spice; fabulous depth and great elegance; a powerful plum fruit finish with a lot in reserve. Has to be La Tâche. A true WOW wine. My second favorite wine of the night but in the long run I wouldn’t bet against this one. Group Rank: 2nd, 44 pts (3/4/3/1/2) 96
#25 [2004 Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg]
Brilliant red color; cherry and earth and asian spice aromas; this had absolutely amazing concentration with cherry and blackberry and asian spice flavors and layers of flavors; really strong minerals signature again; a wonderfully long finish of dark cherry, earth and minerality. It’s a Richebourg, but which one? My number three wine of the night. Group Rank: 3rd, 37 pts (2/4/3/0/2) 95
#26 [2004 Arnoux Romanée St. Vivant]
Dark red color; aromas of black cherry and spice cake; black berry and black cherry flavors with some modest spice; quite concentrated and intense; this wine seems to have much darker and riper fruit than the others but it doesn’t seem to be overripe; nice sweet blackfruit finish with some minerality. Group Rank: Tied for 7th, 7 pts (0/1/0/1/1) 94
#27 [2004 Bouchard La Romanée]
Very deep totally saturated red color; intense morello cherry aromas with rose petals indicative of stems and some asian spice; powerfully concentrated plum and cherry fruit with earth tones and minerals; extremely long voluptuous finish. Another real WOW wine and my wine of the night. Group Rank: 1st, 48 pts (8/1/0/2/0) 96
#28 [2004 Le Moine Richebourg]
Very deep red-violet color; intensely concentrated plum and asian spice aromas; another very powerful, structured wine – blackcherry and plum, some tannins here both on the mid-palate and the finish. Some minerality too. The tannins on the finish made this come off a little flat. This big boy needs more time. Group Rank: Tied for 7th, 7 pts (0/0/2/0/1) 94
Dessert Course
Poached Pear Tart
’
2004 Turley Roussane Alban Vineyards Late Picked Reserve (375ml)
Amber colored; candied fruit and some botrytis aromas; a fairly rich mix of tropical fruit and fresh apricot with a very long BA-like finish. This was very nice and while it doesn’t measure up to the 2005 version tasted a year earlier, it’s still a very impressive dessert wine from Larry Turley. 94
Left to Right: Larry Hoffman, Gordon Lee, Michael Zadikian and Jerry Hey
Some Overall Thoughts and Conclusions about the 2004s
The expected “green meanies” except for the Leroys, just never materialized. Yes, a handful of wines, particularly the Leroys, showed some green or herbal elements in their aromas (and in the case of the Leroys, in their flavors). After tasting all three of the top 2004 Leroys it was obvious why the wines had been declassified – because they are well below the standards one expects for tasting Leroy wines. And yes, a few people seemed to be more sensitive to green herbal aromas than others; but even those who were most sensitive to the aromas simply noted that they detected them at modest levels and said that they found the wines drinkable and enjoyable overall. As for the widespread reports about some of these wines being horribly flawed and undrinkable, it appeared to us, on this night with this level of wines at least, to be a complete myth.
The 2004s are a vintage that from some villages, such as Chambolle, is certainly drinkable now and a vintage that won’t require another ten years to be ready. Having said that, I do think that many of the Bonnes Mares and Clos de la Roche and the Vosne Romanée grand crus will likely benefit from another five or more years of age if you have the patience. The top 2004s clearly have more stuffing than the 2000, 2007 and 2011 vintages. The 2004s also have less tannin than the 1988, 1995, 1996 and 1998 vintages.
There is no question that some villages were more successful than others in 2004. Gevrey Chambertin clearly struggled the most among the Cote de Nuits villages in 2004. While 2004s generally didn’t suffer from lack of ripeness, it struck me that the Gevreys were leaner and less ripe than the other Cote de Nuits villages. All of the Gevrey benchmarks seemed to under-perform relative to their expected norms. The Musignys (with the exception of the Roumier, which was sadly corked but had considerable concentration and depth) were all somewhat lighter than expected – at best medium bodied wines – but they were clearly showing their terroir and a good degree of minerality. The wines from Bonnes Mares and Morey St. Denis however were bigger, heavier and very much matched our expectations for weight and depth. The Vosne Romanee wines were the clear stars of the show from an overall perspective. From my perspective, the top 2004 Vosne Romanée will hold their own against virtually any other red burgundy vintage of the last 25 years vintage save for 1993, 1999, 2005 and 2010.
There was considerable consensus about the top three wines in this tasting. The La Romanee, La Tache and Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg clearly stood out and were fabulous wines by any measuring stick. About ten days later I tasted the 2004 Hudelot-Noellat Romanee St. Vivant from my cellar. I have little doubt that wine would have finished in the top five of the tasting had we included it. Michael Zadikian reported the same thing about the 2004 Fourrier Griotte.
The one thing this tasting made clear to me is that there is no point in selling any of my remaining 2004s at auction. (I don’t own any more 2004 Leroy, so that exception doesn’t apply in my case.) I actually bought a four bottle lot of 2004 Bouchard La Romanée at the La Paulée auction in March. There are a few others like the Hudelot-Noellat Richebourg and RSV that I wouldn’t hesitate to buy given the depressed prices for the 2004s and skyrocketing prices for the other vintages.
PHOTO CREDITS: Andrew Gavin. Andy wrote his own comments on the wines on his blog. Valentino – 2006 White Burgundy :: All Things Andy Gavin
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