Tasted at Bordeaux Index annual 10-year on tasting from an ex-château bottle. The Lynch Bages 2004 displays more Merlot character on the nose, soft and rounded with raspberry, crushed strawberry, touches of bay leaf, sage and sous-bois developing and beginning to dominate with time. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and fine acidity. This is elegant and supple in the mouth, touches of espresso infusing the peppery red berry fruit and segueing into a classic finish. Tasted March 2014.

Good bright ruby. Cassis, minerals, licorice and shoe polish on the nose. Offers good richness and texture for the year, with a rather fine-grained middle palate and a restrained sweetness. Finishes with fairly substantial dusty tannins and a lingering flavor of bitter chocolate. Daniel Llose rates this vintage as "more important" than 2002 and 2001 for Lynch-Bages, saying that the tannins here are riper.

(84% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; 3.73 pH; 66 IPT; 13% alcohol): Fully saturated inky ruby. Captivating nose offers redcurrant, black cherry, tar, tobacco, graphite and cedar aromas. Sweet, lush and ripe, with pure blackberry, cocoa and coffee flavors accented by a hint of shoe polish. Very good balance and sound acidity keeps this light on its feet. Finishes a bit warm and simple, with average length but good texture for the vintage. An excellent example of how good some of the 2004 Bordeaux can be: this would make an excellent wine-by-the-glass choice in a restaurant, or could be enjoyed now and over the next few years while your 2005s and 2006s mature in the cellar.

Evolving quickly, the dark plum/garnet-colored 2004 reveals notes of tobacco leaf, forest floor, black fruits, new saddle leather, licorice and earth, good, rather than great, depth of fruit and medium body. Drink this mid-weight effort over the next 10-15 years.
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 196 Aug 2011

(89 Pts)
Attractive cassis aromas jump from the glass of this dark ruby/purple-tinged 2004. While elegant, medium-bodied, soft, and broad in the mouth, it is slightly superficial, without the broodingly deep, backward, muscular personality of this estate’s wines prior to 2001. Given its flavor profile and softness, the 2004 will have wide consumer appeal if drunk over the next 10-14 years. Drink: 2007 - 2021
- Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 171 Jun 2007

(87-88 Pts)
Lynch-Bages’s 2004 reveals a dark ruby/purple color, hints of flowers, crushed rocks, and black currants, attractive, straightforward flavors, a touch of spice, and medium body but not the stuffing, power, and substance one expects from this property. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2016. Drink: 2007 - 2016
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 165 Jun 2006

Evolving quickly, the dark plum/garnet-colored 2004 reveals notes of tobacco leaf, forest floor, black fruits, new saddle leather, licorice and earth, good, rather than great, depth of fruit and medium body. Drink this mid-weight effort over the next 10-15 years.

Quality 634 | Brand 997 | Economics 894 | buzz brand
Quality: Below the average quality score of its peer group for the 2004 vintage, 692 Brand: #3 strongest restaurant presence on Wine Lister, featuring on 54 of the world's top wine lists, including Auberge du Soleil Economics: Below its peer group average price of £90 for the 2004 vintage Production: Older vines than its peer group average of 32 years

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 15 months in oak barrels (60% new). Red hue. Limited complexity but the fruit is there. Red- and dark-fruit notes with a herbal edge. Juicy and full on the palate with strict tannins for structure. Perhaps a little one-dimensional but offers attractive drinking now as well as the ability to age a little longer. (JL)

84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 15 months in oak barrels (60% new). Red hue. Limited complexity but the fruit is there. Red- and dark-fruit notes with a herbal edge. Juicy and full on the palate with strict tannins for structure. Perhaps a little one-dimensional but offers attractive drinking now as well as the ability to age a little longer. (JL)