I cannot recommend and emphasize enough that if you aren’t buying wines from the 2004 Tuscany and Piedmont campaigns, you will be remorse. This is a classic vintage with many estates producing some of their finest wines ever. Now is the time to purchase these wines and to go deep on your favorites. The campaigns have started for the 2004s and we source more every day. These are “must haves” for the wine lover and wine collector alike and represent some of the last vestiges of affordable fine and collectible wine.
Click here to view 2004 Tuscany
Click here to view 2004 Piedmont
Antonio Galloni on 2004 Tuscany:
Simply put, 2004 is a superb vintage in Central Tuscany….. Readers will be tempted to enjoy these 2004s young, but the wines will only show the full extent of their potential in some years. Not to be left behind, 2004 is also a superb vintage for the Super-Tuscan blends of indigenous and international varietals….. Wines such as Solaia, Tignanello and Camartina are especially noteworthy. All of the wines mentioned above feature extraordinary length and finesse as well as sweet, silky tannins which makes them incredibly appealing even at this early stage. Simply put, the best 2004s are reference-point wines for the region and are not to be missed.
Stephen Tanzer on 2004 Piedmont:
…… The splendid 2004 Barolos and Barbarescos were the highlight of my tour…..The better 2004s are scented and elegant, and at the same time structured and strong. They show many stylistic similarities to the 2001s, another warm season that benefited from fine conditions before and during the harvest. While both of these vintages can be described as “classic,” tannins are generally ripe, and although these wines are structured to evolve in bottle for a decade or two, there’s relatively little of the early austerity that characterized so many big nebbiolo wines of years past. Many producers I visited in September rate the two vintages as roughly equal. Some prefer 2004 for their suppler tannins and more immediate appeal.
Antonio Galloni on 2004 Piedmont:
After a series of poor 2002s and uneven 2003s Barbaresco bounces back with its stunning 2004s……For many estates the 2004s are without question the finest wines they have ever made, although as always, there are a handful of disappointments. The best 2004 Barbarescos are wonderfully complete, with the sweetness of the 2000s and the greater aromatic complexity, detail and finesse of the 2001s……Stylistically 2004 is closest to 1996, 1999 and 2001 although the wines in general possess more sweetness, generosity and finesse than any of those vintages. Simply put, 2004 is a vintage that has the potential to redefine many consumers’ views of the heights Nebbiolo can achieve……As in Barbaresco, the 2004 Barolos are extraordinary. They, too, are the finest wines many estates have ever produced.
