With the 2003 Bordeaux vintage overhyped and overripe, and the 2005 Bordeaux futures priced ridiculously high, 2004 may be a sleeper vintage to take advantage of. While not the best of years, as we all know there are good wines to be found in every vintage.
I saw the '04 Chateau Lascombes on the market and had to give it a try. Suckling says: Plenty of blackberry and lightly toasty oak character, with hints of tea. Medium- to full-bodied, with silky tannins and a medium finish. Balanced. Score range: 85-88 –JS. Parker states: The brilliant 2004 is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage. An inky/purple color is followed by a gorgeously expressive, explosive nose of creme de cassis, smoked meats, flowers, and graphite. Opulent, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully concentrated, with tremendous precision as well as uplift, this superb effort is atypically rich and textured for a 2004. 93-94.
I find the wine to be better than Suckling's rating, but less so than the effusive review by Parker:
2004 Chateau Lascombes, Margaux, France, $45. You won’t read print through this deeply-hued Bordeaux. Blackberries, cedar and vanilla scents intermingle on the nose. Medium to full in the mouth, the generous dark fruit has an added earthy component. The tannins are firm but ripe – give the wine a minimum of five years to shed a bit of the bite; 90/90.
I'll put a few in the cellar at this price.