The April installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Super Tuscans from the the 2004 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published the following week.
2004 was a great vintage in Tuscany. A long, cold winter and a rainy spring delayed the budding and flowering. The prolonged warm summer and unusually hot October brought the grapes to optimum ripeness. The vintage is on par with other classic vintages including 1990 and 1997. The best wines should age exceptionally well.
The Contenders
- 2004 Antinori Tignanello – The estate’s 2004 Tignanello is a modern-day classic. Suggestions of macerated cherries, menthol, sweet spices, licorice and French oak meld seamlessly into a perfumed silky-textured core of ripe fruit. The tannins remain incredibly fine throughout. The wine’s vibrant color and fresh flavors suggest it will age gracefully over the next decade. This is a remarkably refined Tignanello. 94 points from the Wine Advocate.
- 2004 Isole e Olena Cepparello – The 2004 Cepparello has fleshed out beautifully since I last tasted it. Dark raspberries, flowers, licorice and spices blossom from the glass as the wine opens up over time. When it was young the 2004 was a much more linear wine, but since then it has put on a lot of weight. Today, the 2004 comes across as a modern day 1982 because of its balance of aromatics, fruit and structure. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2034. 95 points from Wine Advocate.
- 2004 Argiano Solengo – The 2004 Solengo presents gorgeous aromatics followed by super-ripe dark fruit, crushed flowers, herbs, spices and sweet toasted oak that flow from its opulent, full-bodied frame. Showing superb concentration, the wine is supported by an attractive note of underlying minerality that provides balance as well as a sense of proportion. It offers outstanding length, a silky-textured personality and ripe, sweet tannins on the finish in a rare display that marries power with elegance. It will be tempting to drink this early, but a few years of cellaring will give the wine an opportunity to express the fullest range of its potential. 93 points from the Wine Advocate.
Which 2004 Super Tuscan Should I Open?
- Tignanello (44%, 12 Votes)
- Cepparello (37%, 10 Votes)
- Solengo (19%, 5 Votes)
Total Voters: 27
Loading ...Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another.
Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for the May Installment of Pick My Next Bottle.
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Outstanding selection of Super Tuscans, Tom! And, in a terrific vintage to boot! I’m familiar with the three candidates and they are all going to show very young at this stage. Some will probably be very tight, so some serious decanting will be required. That said, the most drinkable of the three will probably be the 2004 Antinori Tignanello. Tignanello always seems to be more approachable in its youth than either Cepparello or Solengo; therefore, my choice for Pick My Next Bottle is the 2004 Tignanello. Cheers!
Thanks Peter. I’ve never had a young Tignanello and did not know it was so approachable this early on.
Given that 2004 was such a robust year in Tuscany, my impression is that many Super Tuscans are still young and beastly, even after 11 years. I didn’t mean that the Tignanello was generally approachable early on. I only meant that in comparison to the other 2 candidates, Tignanello will be more approachable than they will be. I suspect that all 3 candidates will need serious decanting at this stage. Dying to read your review notes. Please include whether you think decanting was helpful or not, if you choose to decant.
Of the three, this one made me salivate more, and that’s what it is all about.