2004 Margaux horizontal

A subset of the San Antonio wine groups with interest in bdx got together to taste through several Margaux of the 2004 vintage. The wines were served blind, with the attendees knowing the lineup. I added Pape-Clement and Fleur Cardinale to the group, which were single blind to me and double blind to everyone else. The Texas wines were double blind to everyone including me, and single blind to Steve T. The marguax were opened with brief decant a few hours prior. The Pape-Clement and Fleur-Cardinale were decanted 3hrs prior, with sediment removed.
Attendees: The Bordeaux lovers from the Boerne Wine club: Tim & Kim McIntosh , Josh & Rachael, Carole & Elgin, Steve & Karen, and Joe B.

Tasting notes in order wines were served

• 2004 Château Rauzan-Ségla Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  I had the first pour of this, and has a wonderful pure nose that was floral with cherry with cedar spice. Dry cedar coursed through the palate with cherry fruit and a lengthy finish with mostly cedar spice but cherry fruit carried through underneath. Woody but elegant. Later in the evening this wine no longer existed, and all I could smell and taste was a musty, damp TCA-like infection. Some mentioned “cellar-funk.” I have no idea what happened and why this flaw wasn’t initially there, but it was almost undrinkable later in the evening. Interesting that my previous encounters with this wine are more like the flawed sample than my initial taste.

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• 2004 Sister Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 87 Points

  USA, Texas, Texas Hill Country

  Nose of red cherry fruit and cassis. Palate is smooth and round, low acidity with little tannin. Ripe pure red fruit profile with a little cedar and vanilla on the back. On the simple side. An obvious ringer, thought I really thought it was a Napa Cab.

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• 2004 Château Brane-Cantenac 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Shy nose with a little funky oak and spice. Not much fruit on the nose. Palate had a slightly darker fruit than the Rauzan, with blacker cherry note. Firm dry tannins with oak profile on the backend presented as cedar and hint of toast. This came across as slightly disjointed and closed to me, with prominent oak profile that needs to integrate. The fruit was rather overshadowed by the tannins and oak profile. Has good acidity, probably just needs time to come together, but there’s a possibility it won’t have the fruit to last. Good, but not as enjoyable as most in this tasting.

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• 2004 Château Fleur Cardinale 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Fragrant nose, with a touch of VA and dark plumy fruit. Palate was fuller bodied, with currants and plenty of toasty oak influence. Fine acidity and chewy tannins. Mocha, smoke and toast with dried fruits on the medium length finish. Quite modern. This bottle later on turned much more plum-like with the tannins becoming more prominent. A nice right bank in a modern style that should still improve. Everyone recognized as a ringer I believe, I was leaning towards this being my Pape-Clement rather than right bank, but in retrospect the cab franc is more obvious.

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• 2004 Château Margaux 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Floral complex nose with cedar and spice, and an herbal note of something different, like tobacco leaf. Smooth palate, with velvety fine tannins that weren’t too intrusive. Nice red fruits on the palate, with an element of leather that I thought was early maturity. Complex lengthy finish with cedar spice and tobacco leaf. Later on in the evening when I knew it’s identity, it seemed less “mature” with the tobacco/leather coming across more as exotic spices and the tannins and structure more prominent and the fruit seeming fresher. I initially wrote “low pedigree Margaux for drinking now” oops. Initially scored 91, but wanted to increase through the evening as it seemed more complex (was it? or just knowing it was a 1st growth?). May reach the 94-95 level with time, though surprisingly open and enjoyable now.

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• 2004 Château Lascombes 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Dark nose with fragrant fruit and lavender. Nice acidity on the palate, but the fruit faded on the palate and it turned rather hollow. Some plum and tar on the backend, though the finish became clipped, with a sudden end. Odd. Picked as a ringer by most, almost no one thought it was Marguax(except Tim who pegged it as Lascombs). I thought it might have been a right bank. Disappointing compared to prior bottle.

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• 2004 Fall Creek Vineyards Meritus 84 Points

  USA, Texas, Texas Hill Country

  Syrupy sickly sweet nose. Port-like on the palate, dark fruit, low acidity with an herbal element. Chalky tannins. Caramel finish. Residual sugar? Really didn’t like the flavor profile of this. Obvious ringer, though couldn’t place it.

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• 2004 Château Malescot St. Exupéry 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Rather shy nose, with cassis and lavender. Prominent coarse tannins on the palate with wonderful pure polished red fruit profile. Lengthy finish with cassis and cedar with a slightly herbal and savory note. Despite the complexity, this still seems a little closed and tight, with a bright future to come. Seemed to have a high end pedigree. On re-tasting prior to knowing the identity, it was a little rounder and darker, with less complexity, and shorter finish. My original score is here. Was guessing Palmer.

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• 2004 Château Pontac-Lynch 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Slightly musty nose, with a little funk with slightly dark fruit notes of black cherry. Fine tannins and acidity, showing a little flint with cedar spice. Finishes with good length and medium complexity. Re-tasting non-blind compared to Palmer and Ch. Margaux didn’t have the same complexity or depth, but a fine drinking margaux that really held its own. Everyone guessed Margaux.

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• 2004 Château Pape Clément 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Rich fragrant nose of cherry and currants (distinctly darker fruit profile) with a little chocolate. Palate was rich with ripe fruits, but nice acidity leading into a long finish of coffee and mocha and gravel with dried/roasted fruit on the finish. Great complexity and balance, though I don’t recall anyone thinking this was Margaux. I thought it was either Lascombs or Pape-Clement. Tannins were more prominent with air and were rather big and coarse. Should improve in the next 5yrs. Consensus WOTN.

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• 2004 Château Boyd-Cantenac 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Nose struck me as being slightly sweet, with a candied licorice flair. Later in the glass, thought it was rather cedary and dry. Interesting. Darker fruit profile, with currants and plum, with a candied temperament. Medium finish, with coffee and chocolate. Spending more time with this bottle non-blind, seemed to dry out with air, with strong cedar notes and firm tannins and loosing the candied notes. Modern touch, needs some time to come around.

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• 2004 Château Palmer 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Cherry and licorice nose, rather concentrated and fragrant. Distinctly darker fruit profile than the other margaux, but with some cherry , blackberry, and lavender poking through. Still Margaux but by far the most concentrated fruit. Long complex finish where the oak influence really comes forward, with cedary overtones. Non-blind tasting later, more floral on the nose, with slightly candied fruit on the palate, and coarse prominent tannins that come out with air. 91 initially though bumped to 92 after spending more time with it. Noticeable that this has the highest level of merlot in this tasting with the darker fruit profile. This should unwind and improve with time.

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Summary – A great overview of the Margaux region in ’04, with some really great wines made. Surprisingly, these were approachable and enjoyable with a decant, with prominent but tolerable tannins. While Palmer and Ch. Margaux were the most complex, and Ch. Margaux having a distinctive flavor profile, I’m sure it is worth 6x the price of the average classified Margaux. Only time will tell as they may distance themselves from the others and gain complexity with time. Though scored the same, I prefered the style of the Ch. Margaux to the Palmer. Malescott certainly should be in the mix with the big names, and Pontac-Lynch really held its own for current drinking, though I think it will fade over the next 5yrs.
Ringers, for the most part were easy to spot as classically "non-margaux" but very difficult to place. Lascombes stood out from the rest of the margaux.
Pape-Clement was the consensus WOTN. Will update the overall rankings later, thought Ch. Margaux, Palmer, and Malescott were frequently mentioned in the top 3.