Vintage 2004 in Bordeaux is really overshadowed by the more famous 2003 and 2005.

2003 is well-known for its extreme heat.  Opinion about its quality is really divided.  Some loves it so much and think it is a very good vintage.  Ripe fruit, massive power and big structure are common descriptors for those who love 2003 vintage.  However, others believe 2003 is having a style too close to the ripe and fruit-forward new world style and lacking typical Bordeaux character.

2005 is undoubtedly an extremely good vintage.  However, they are also very expensive, esp. for those super-seconds and first growth.

Personally, I actually think 2004 is a good vintage that is selling at a price much lower than 2005.  Stylistically, I actually prefer 2004 more than 2003 as I think it resembles traditional Bordeaux style more than 2003.  Even more, for all the 2004 Bordeaux I tried so far, none of them disappointed me.

The weather of 2004 Bordeaux was actually not bad.  It is not as hot as 2003.  Grapes ripened quite late with Merlot ripened in end Sep and Cabernet Sauvignon in mid Oct.  Even though there was rains in Oct, it didn’t affect the quality of Cabernet Sauvignon too much.  Although 2004 was a high yield year, reputable producers generally practice green harvesting which help to maintain quality and concentration.

This bottle of 2004 Clos Fourtet was bought a few years ago from London in whole case.  I still remember it was selling at only about HK$300 at that time and I think it is really good bargain.

In the last Buy Cytotec Online Pharmacy No Prescription Needed few years, I have already drunk a few bottles and seeing they continue to evolve.

The style of Clos Fourtet has always been very full bodied, having ripe fruits and quite heavy oaky flavour.  This 2004 Clos Fourtet gave me the same impression.  The first bottle I tried a few years ago was really showing too much oak.  I still remember I have to wait for an hour until the fruit flavours emerged to balance the strong oaky flavour.  Even so, I believed the wine is having serious potential and better to wait for a few years to see how it evolves.

This 2004 Clos Fourtet is really much better today!  While it is still showing very strong oaky Buy augmentin online flavour, the wine is much more balanced now.  The wine showed a wide array of flavours such as black fruits, black berry, chocolate, coffee, spices and leather.  The tannins have also softened a lot and becoming much more integrated.  I’m really pleased with this wine and we quickly finished the whole bottle!

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