Long Agers from 2004

originally posted by Eden Mylunsch:
On the presumption that most kids want to drink contrary to their father's preferences, you should probably lay away some Australian wines from the very good 2004 vintage.
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Brilliant analysis, but probably doesn't go far enough. A truly rebellious child will no doubt confine him/herself to drinking "energy" drinks and sickly sweet "cocktails." For entertainment purposes, though, they'll stick to what HST described as "a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers."

Mark Lipton
 
Wow, this is a lot of help. Thanks so much. Keep 'em coming.

I notice there are no red burgundy recommendations. (I stay away from '04 as much as '03 because I'm highly sensitive to the meanies anyway. But probably there was something.)

How does one know if a Brunello is likely to be a thirty year wine?

Comtes and Chetillons are good recs, those are great wines. I picked up a few bottles of each of Laval's single-vineyard '04's already when Chambers had them so hopefully those will work out.

Are there any '04 Bordeaux that one can find in the Benjamin-ish range or below that will evolve into glorious old age? Pete mentioned Pichon-Baron as a possibility. I promise to pick up a case each of HB and La Mission if I come into money, but in the meantime...

Germany is another place to look, that's a good point. Australia does look like it had quite a vintage in 2004. I bet if I knew what I was doing I could find some interesting Cabernets from out of the way here and there that would have some promise for the long term. Penfolds Grange will have to wait for the same lottery ticket that buys the Haut-Brion, though.

Really touched by all the help, thank you again.
 
For good Aussie Cabernet, grab the Mt. Mary Quintet. Not Cab, but Mt. Langi Ghiran Shiraz is really good stuff with age.

'04 Bordeaux - Haut Bailly, Leoville Barton and Calon Segur come to mind. Haven't tried Chateau Canon (St. Emilion), but that's been incredibly consistent in every year I've tried (including more recent vintages like '05 and '06) so I'd consider it a pretty safe bet.

04 Burgs are a crapshoot.
 
originally posted by Steven Spielmann: I notice there are no red burgundy recommendations.
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Steven, I agree with Salil. The 2004 Burgundies are too unpredictable.

Yes, there are some that are just fine, but they are, in my view at least, a difficult to find species, especially for longer term cellaring.

. . . . Pete
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
You couldn't give me P-Baron in any vintage of the last 20 years.

Sorry, Pete.
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The '89 was quite tasty, but now I realize that it falls outside of your window.

Tempus fuckit,
Mark Lipton
 
+1 with Salil for Haut Bailly. I think Maureen likes Truchot in 04, which is good authority, but don't know if she likes them for keeping. One NY store has some very expensive Charmes Chambertin.
 
I bought Truchot, Mugnier Marechale, Weinbach L'Inedit, JJ Prum, Giuseppe Rinaldi, Milan Terres du Noel and of course a good bit of Northern Rhone because Dad will need something to drink at some point too, I'm sure.
 
Unfortunately it's become impossible to recommend any 2004 Burgundies because even the good bottles don't give reproducible results. You'll have one that's absolutely beautiful and then look like a moron when you bring a bottle from the same stash to a dinner and it tastes like a vegetable garden.

In Bordeaux, I think the 2004 vintage is one of the prettiest for drinking young that I've ever seen, but betting on them for the 20+ year range strikes me as very iffy. I haven't paid attention to Sauternes vintages but if it's reputed to be any good there, you'll definitely want some of those.
 
Gouges in '04?

Irrespective of the wine's quality there is something very tempting about the Calon Segur for one's daughter, with the heart on the bottle.

Is '04 Pergole Torte a long distance runner? Any other Sangiovese come to mind?
 
'04 Rieussec, which I've had, is pretty solid and will likely last a long time, though I don't know that it will improve that much. But it has some acid to back up the sweet and fat. I bought a couple bottles of it but decided not to load up for the long haul. Don't regret the purchase though. I think it's considered kind of an average Sauternes vintage, but other than the Rieussec I don't think I've tried anything but Roumieu Lacoste. That is also the year that d'Yquem switched to new ownership and used 30% Sauvignon Blanc so while it's been pretty well-reviewed I am somewhat dubious about it lasting forever as some vintages do.
 
originally posted by Steven Spielmann:

Is '04 Pergole Torte a long distance runner? Any other Sangiovese come to mind?
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I'd be willing to take a chance on any of Montevertine's wines, barring perhaps the Pian del Ciampolo, in '04. I've also got some Fattoria Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano, but I wouldn't bet on it going 20 years, let alone 30.

Mark Lipton
 
opened quite a few bottles of 2004 Mugnier Marechale from both 375 and 750 and never had a bad one, but I haven't opened one in a while (year+) either. Better find some wood quickly, I guess.

Had some 2004 Weinbach, quite enjoyed them. I actually bought a 6L of L'Inedit. I don't usually buy larger than 750 but there it was... I think we'll have lobster at a wedding in a number of years.
 
...I'm thinking of buying a bit more, though, so I'm wondering if any of you have had any wines from 2004 from anywhere in the world that you are convinced will age indefinitely (or 25+ years at least).
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The general lack of interest in Californian wines here has resulted in a serious gap in the recommendations: Petite Sirah! Petite Sirah, when made from old vines with the intent to be age-worthy, ages at a glacial pace.

IMHO the goal of laying down wines for your kids is not so much that they blossom into perfect examples at age 21 or 30 (it's hard to predict optimum age for drinking, even harder to predict what your kids' taste in wine will be). No, the key factor is the odds of the wine surviving that long in a form that most wine drinkers will still find pleasant. Petite Sirah does this really well, even if it doesn't develop the complexity and refinement of top Barolos, Bordeaux, Hermitage, etc. The best bets that come to mind are:
--Ridge York Creek
--Stags Leap Vineyards (not Stags Leap Wine Cellars)
--Ballentine Fig Tree vineyard

The J. Lohr Tower Road vineyard and the Preston Dry Creek bottlings seemed like good bets lately, but I haven't had any experience aging them. I have had Ridge and Freemark Abbey York Creek Petite Sirahs from the 70s, and Stags Leap Vineyard examples from the 80s, that seemed just middle-aged in their development.

Barolo is a good idea generally in terms of ageability, but the problem is that old Barolo is something of an acquired taste, and you have to be something of a wine geek to appreciate them. Vintage Port, Sauternes and the sweetest Vouvrays are a safer bet in terms of satisfying both the casual or aficionado's palate. But I don't really know how good the 2004 vintage was for long term aging in any of those regions.
 
originally posted by mlawton:
opened quite a few bottles of 2004 Mugnier Marechale from both 375 and 750 and never had a bad one, but I haven't opened one in a while (year+) either. Better find some wood quickly, I guess.

Had some 2004 Weinbach, quite enjoyed them. I actually bought a 6L of L'Inedit. I don't usually buy larger than 750 but there it was... I think we'll have lobster at a wedding in a number of years.
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Funny, I have a 3 liter of the Schlossberg GC, trying to imagine where, when to open it.
 
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