On my birthday we opened a nice bottle of Bordeaux. This wasn’t one of the big hitters, coming from a smaller chateau in Listrac, as well as being from a less heralded vintage. This was a 2004 Chateau Clarke, and it is pretty classic Bordeaux in every way. 2004 is sandwiched right between the excellent 2003 vintage and the “vintage of a lifetime” in 2005. That description is a bit overused these days, as 2000, 2005, 2009 AND 2010 have been called that. Clearly it only really applies if you have a very short lifespan. I would have to agree that at least 2000 and 2005 represent great vintages, because the lesser chateaus made some pretty excellent wine in those years. I won’t be opening the 09’s or 10’s for quite a while yet. You can get good Bordeaux in almost any vintage though, and this is an example.
The wine:
2004 Chateau Clarke
Wine: 2004 Chateau Clarke Winery Location: Listrac, Bordeaux
Tasted By: Neil and Cheri Date: Feb 28, 2013
Tasting Notes: This is, as we said above, a pretty classic Bordeaux. Dark purple in the glass, this has a nice nos of black fruit, if it is a little restrained. On the palate there is dark fruit, with a little earthy one. It’s still tanic, but they’re not overpowering and integrate pretty well. After it had been open an hour the tannins were still there – this is going to last a while yet. It has very nice length. All in all a pretty classy wine. It’s not in the same league as the big, classified growths, or the wines from one of the big vintages, but it’s less expensive as well if you can find it. We had the 2003 as well and that was exceptional.
Price Point – $20-$25
Would We Buy It? – Yes. It’s a nice bottle of Bordeaux for reasonable money.
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