Clos l'Eglise 2004

Made in a very forward style, the 2004 Clos l’Eglise offers sweet mocha-infused black raspberry and chocolate cherry-like fruit in its intense aromatics. In the mouth, it is pure silk, medium-bodied, and beautifully concentrated with no hard edges. Filled with sensual fruit, glycerin, and body, this is a delicious, food and consumer-friendly, complex Pomerol that should drink beautifully for 12-14 years.

Shows intense blackberry, with other dark fruits and just a hint of coffee. Full-bodied, with lovely fruit, chewy tannins and a long, fruity, caressing finish. Best after 2010. 1,575 cases made.

This is a beautiful wine with black truffle, dark berries, chocolate and violets. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and enticing. The length and focus are excellent for this vintage.

Ruby-red. Deep aromas and flavors of roasted black raspberry and chocolate. Rich, chewy and deep; this really spreads out to saturate the entire palate. Finishes with compelling sweetness and breadth, with substantial horizontal tannins. This boasts an almost exotic ripeness in the context of the vintage.

An early-drinking vintage from this chateau, which normally takes much longer to come around. There’s a nice touch of dark chocolate atop red and black plums, herbs, and earthy, medium-bodied characteristics. Close to mature, it could improve and soften a bit with time, but it’s drinking well today.

Medium-dark garnet. Sweet, expansive bouquet with red-currant lozenges, floral notes, stewed red plums and first cocoa notes from the maturing Merlot. Firm, dense palate with fleshy extract, still slightly grippy; some bitterness on the mid-palate due to over-extraction or press wine.

Deep, extremely dark purple-violet with black highlights. Dreamy bouquet scented of dark woods, followed by notes of tea, jasmine, currants and smoke; it feels immensely concentrated. Juicy, dense palate with rounded tannins that are already well integrated, still gently grainy yet radiating tremendous black-berry aromatics; a very incisive attack. Unfortunately it comes across a bit over-extracted, and with slightly less extraction it would probably be a much better wine.

The 2004 Clos L'Eglise is deep garnet in color with a touch of brick. It gives up notes of tobacco, tilled soil, and iron ore over a core of baked plums, sautéed herbs, and smoked meats. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid structure of chewy tannins and just enough freshness to support the savory-laced, muscular fruit, finishing with a compelling herbal lift.

Logo on the cork: AL Dark, intense, and evolved color. Fruity, creamy nose with a hint of cedar. Caressing, fruity, pleasant palate with a straight-lined body, lacking a bit of breadth. Good finish without pronounced tannins this time.

As an indication of the ripeness of Merlot in 2004, this is a hugely rich wine, very ripe, almost raisiny in character. The fruit is dark and black, with a texture of jelly and flavors of blackberries.