Variously described as "classic" and a "claret lover's vintage" - 2004 was a particularly expensive vintage to make good wine in. Mother Nature did in fact do her bit but she did not make it easy and you needed to keep faith with her. The harvest was the latest since 1988. Despite this there was however the potential for a bumper crop and those who did not follow strict thinning practises in the vineyard and who were not harshly selective in the chai failed to deliver quality. 2004 is not as impressive, across the board, as either 2000 or 2003. So only those châteaux that spent a lot of money to deliver the vintage and who demand far less for it than was asked of their 2003 vintage are likely to be worth buying.
It seemed to me that no one appellation or grape variety stood out as indisputably better than another. The 2004 vintage really was a year when there was the opportunity to do well wherever you were located and whatever you grew. That said you needed nerves of steel, pockets of gold and a hefty slice of luck.
The downward trend of release prices for 2004s was gratifying to see. The percentage price falls were not uniform nor were there reductions across the board. That said there are some attractively priced wines available and you have to feel that prices demanded for the 2005s and many of the 2006s this may well have been the last moderately priced Bordeaux vintage.
