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Bordeaux 2004

Bordeaux 2004

Vintage Review

At Two Years

Towards Maturity

Tasting, November 2007

After Bordeaux 2003, which was the subject of so much hype, 2004 seems to mark a return to a more classic Bordeaux vintage. There was no easily identifiable marker, such as extreme heat of 2003, to predict the eventual quality of the wines, and the harvest seemed to pass without any great fervour. It is down to the first tasters to describe the quality of the wines and the vintage as a whole, and to guide hopeful buyers. Two years on from the en primeur season and the wines are now in bottle, and this is our first chance to assess the finished product. The wines are presented by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux in a series of tastings across Europe, Asia and North America. Here I present a quick review of the weather that made the wine, followed by my overall impressions, and over the coming days I will publish my tasting notes for the 86 wines I have assessed.

Vintage Review

Winter saw lower than average rainfall, but otherwise passed uneventfully until February 2004. Cold weather through to March delayed the budding of the vines by up to three weeks, an event which is almost certain to have a significant effect on the vintage. The budding date is directly related to the harvest date; a delay in the first puts back the latter, having a direct influence on the style of the wine, and also increasing the risk of wet and inclement weather before the fruit can be harvested. It was mid-April before there was convincing budburst, at which point another issue became apparent; after two small volume crops, the vines were sprouting buds everywhere, and the 2004 vintage was set to be massive. Careful attention to yields would be necessary if quality was to be maintained.

This started in May when many estates saw the excess buds pinched off; those that didn't attend to this here simply faced a huge green harvest in June. There was also some oidium, and the vines were stressed by the lack of precipitation, but otherwise things proceeded very well. July and August were beginning of the 2004 frustration; these were warm, damp but unconvincing months with average or just-above-average temperatures and rainfall. The crop remained huge, the risk of rot was high, and despite the widely practised debudding and green harvest earlier in the year some bunch thinning was still required. In addition the veraison was uneven.

Fortunately, the weather turned, and there came several weeks of warm, dry, sunny weather, carrying the bountiful vines along in good health up until the harvest. As is usual the first grapes to be harvested were the Pessac-Léognan whites, which came in in perfect condition in the first two or three weeks of September, swiftly followed by those in Sauternes. The heat helped the red grapes to lose their excess water, and in late September the Cabernet Francs and Merlots were harvested, up to ten days later than usual, in dry conditions or sometimes a little light rain. The Cabernet Sauvignons came in with a little rain too, not sufficiently wet for this to be of any great consequence, but in less admirable condition than the Merlots. Gentle handling of the fruit would be necessary in order to maximise potential, with the best outcome being a return to a style more readily identifiable as Bordeaux after the exuberance of the 2003 vintage.

To sum up the characteristics of 2004, then:

Delayed budding resulting in a late harvest
Not since 1988 has the harvest been so far into Autumn.
Potential for a massive yield
The vines were full of vigour, and the season would have permitted a huge crop which the vines would have tried (and probably failed) to ripen adequately. The INAO set the rendement annuel for the red wines at 48-58 hl/ha depending on the commune.
Uneven quality at harvest
Some grapes were riper than others, although generally Merlots were more likely to be in better condition than the Cabernets, and this was not a vintage for Chaptalisation. Nevertheless, not all grapes had recovered from their swollen state before harvest; there was plenty of opportunity to maximise the quality of the wine with careful selection, handling and appropriate saignée.

Tasting the Wines

I will include detail on each commune with my tasting notes, but first some sweeping generalisations, starting with the dry whites. These are, thankfully, in a completely different style to last year's wines which I abhorred. There is acidity this year, and freshness too. But these are not delicate, floral-fruity characters, the style is much more structured, pithy and grippy even. But this is certainly an improvement and for fans of white Graves there are some ageworthy wines suitable for purchase.

The red wines do indeed show a more classic Bordeaux style on tasting - thank heavens. The acidities are, on the whole, fine. The tannins are quite firm and give much structure, but on the whole they are in balance with the rest of the wine, are in most cases well covered by a blanket of fruit and texture, only peeping out through the midpalate and finish. This should certainly not be written off as a vintage of unbalanced tannins. One or two wines have been reported as having quite a green, tannic character and this is not surprising in view of the uneven quality of some of the Cabernets. I am aware that some tasters at the UGC event found this a problem, but I think it affects a minority of the wines and it is not an easy soundbite for the vintage. The flavour profile has also, thankfully, returned to a less exotic style this year. After the blackberries, plums and even cherries of last year here we have lots of svelte, dark fruits with the odd blackberry and plum, with some crisp, red fruit character here and there. I happily report failure to spot more than a handful of wines showing cherry on the day, and where they did it seemed to work quite well.

To sum up succinctly is difficult, as 2004 is a vintage not easily described in a few words, but on the whole I think the wines are more traditionally styled, and will make fine drinking for many cellars; the vintage seems a little under-rated, overshadowed by the over-hyped 2003 and the apparently monumental 2005. But there are certainly a few under-performers, several over-performers and even star-performers. And some communes have done better than others...the exact details may surprise you. My tasting notes, published over the next few days, will make all clear. (6/11/06)