So what sort of wines have been produced in 2004? See below for a bite-sized summary, a supplement to my more general chronological overview to be published in wine news on Saturday 16 apr.
Overloaded vines
The main story is of massive potential yields, so any decent proprietor with sufficient cash summer pruned dramatically although, as Kees Van Leeuwen of Cheval Blanc points out, it’s dangerous to remove more than half the crop as that can seriously unbalance the vine. At Cheval for instance, a potential yield of 90 hl/ha(!) was reduced to 45. Many a tiptop Médoc château made...