2004 Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion from this lot has the following scores - Wine Enthusiast 97 points, The Wine Front 96 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion from Robert Parker - The 2004 Cheval Blanc has always been a wine that I felt needed patience on behalf of the wine lover, and so it is proving to be the case. Served blind I remarked upon a surprisingly Burgundy-like bouquet with ample red cherries, candied strawberry and redcurrant scents, the Merlot clearly more conspicuous than the Cabernet Franc, at least for now. The palate is medium-bodied with just a touch of coarseness on the entry. I appreciate the weight and balance here and belatedly the Cabernet Franc begins to express itself on the latter half, lending structure and grip, a dash of spice and a bit of sinew. Whilst it will never have the persistence of other vintages and regrettably continue to be dwarfed by the 2005, it remains a very fine Cheval Blanc from Pierre Lurton and his team. 2004 Chateau d Yquem Sauternes Premier Cru Superieur from this lot has the following scores - Wine Spectator 100 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau d Yquem Sauternes Premier Cru Superieur from Wine Spectator - with a score of 100 points. It is characterized by intense, complex notes of tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, guava), lemon cream, and botrytis, balanced by high acidity, offering a rich yet refined, long-lasting, and energetic palate. 2004 Chateau Haut Brion Pessac Leognan Premier Grand Cru Classe from this lot has the following scores - Jeannie Cho Lee (formerly Asian Palate) 96 points, Wine & Spirits Magazine 96 points, Wine Enthusiast 96 points, Wine Spectator 95 points, Decanter 95 points, The Wine Front 95 points, Vinous 94 points, Jean-Marc Quarin 94 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau Haut Brion Pessac Leognan Premier Grand Cru Classe from Robert Parker - It has been a few years since I last tasted the 2004 Haut-Brion. Now at 12 years of age, it retains its deep color. The bouquet is pleasant if not as complex as the 2004 Latour, yet it's possibly just biding its time as it gradually opens with black fruit, black olive, even a touch of mint that might dupe you into thinking Pauillac. The palate is medium-bodied and very harmonious, almost caressing thanks to the Merlot lending that velvety texture. The second half changes tack, the Cabernet nudging the Merlot off the stage and delivering a more structured, possibly foursquare finish that is linear and correct. It is an excellent wine for the vintage although it will always be overshadowed by the 2005 inter alia. Maybe more personality just needs to develop?. 2004 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion Pessac Leognan from this lot has the following scores - Wine Enthusiast 94 points, Vinous 93 points, CellarTracker 92 points, Jeff Leve The Wine Cellar Insider 92 points, Gary Vaynerchuk - Wine Library TV 92 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion Pessac Leognan from Robert Parker - While La Mission Haut-Brion’s 2004 is not one of this estate’s top successes, it is an outstanding wine, no doubt because of this extraordinary terroir. Deep ruby/purple with notes of lead pencil shavings intermixed with black cherries, cassis, and a hint of scorched earth, medium body, sweet tannin, and a good, but uninspiring finish, this attractive, mid-weight La Mission should age nicely for 15 or more years. 2004 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac from this lot has the following scores - Wine Enthusiast 96 points, The Wine Advocate 95 points, Wine & Spirits Magazine 95 points, Jeff Leve The Wine Cellar Insider 95 points, Falstaff Magazine 94 points, Jean-Marc Quarin 94 points, CellarTracker 94 points, The Wine Front 94 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac from Robert Parker - Having tasted the 2005 Château Lafite-Rothschild several times both blind and non-blind, it comes across as a First Growth politely requesting more time to settle. Here, from an ex-château bottle tasted in Bordeaux, it delivers that graphite, pencil-box bouquet that unfurls gradually in the glass, biding its time, graceful but not intense. Parallel to some of its fellow 2005s, it is developing a little more spice, namely thyme and sage, than I recall. The palate is medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, to wit, a sophisticated Pauillac that priorities elegance and poise over intensity of fruit—in keeping with Lafite Rothschild's style. You come away with the sense that it will take its time and decline, giving away a great deal in its primacy, even if it is still more approachable than the 2005 Latour for example. Therefore, I would be inclined to set this aside for several more years. 2004 Chateau Latour Grand Vin Pauillac from this lot has the following scores - The Wine Advocate 97 points, Wine Enthusiast 97 points, VertedeVin 97 points, Gary Vaynerchuk - Wine Library TV 96 points, Wine Spectator 95 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau Latour Grand Vin Pauillac from Robert Parker - The 2004 Latour is perhaps evolving slower than I expected, although it remains one of the finest Left Bank wines of the vintage. It has that quintessential graphite-scented bouquet intermixed with blackberry and cedar, although the liquorice note that I observed previously has receded. Again, there is wonderful definition. The palate is full-bodied but surprisingly more sultry than I expected, especially here where I was able to directly compare it with the other 2004 First Growths. It delivers the authority you expect from Latour, although I might be inclined just to give it another 2-3 years in bottle. 2004 Chateau Margaux from this lot has the following scores - Wine & Spirits Magazine 96 points, Wine Enthusiast 96 points, Decanter 96 points, Jeannie Cho Lee (formerly Asian Palate) 95 points, Jean-Marc Quarin 95 points, Jeff Leve The Wine Cellar Insider 95 points, Vinous 94 points, The Wine Advocate 94 points, Wine Spectator 94 points, John Kapon Vintage Tastings 94 points, John Kapon - Vintage Tastings 94 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau Margaux from Robert Parker - The 2004 Chateau Margaux has always been a promising wine and here, served blind against the First Growths, it finally proved that patience is necessary when it comes to such wines. It has an exquisite bouquet with brilliant delineation, scents of redcurrant, raspberry coulis, cold stone (almost flint-like) with pencil-lead and cedar lending it a Pauillac-like sense of aristocratic flair. The palate is extremely well balanced with a supple opening, nigh perfect acidity with a surprisingly citric undercurrent that lends so much freshness and tension. While it does not have the weight and power of say, 2000, 2005 or 2009, it cruises along with utmost harmony and you become smitten by its charms - something that is perhaps in short supply among the First Growths in this vintage. This is excellent. 2004 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac from this lot has the following scores - The Wine Advocate 99 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac from Robert Parker - Last tasted three or four years ago, the 2004 Mouton-Rothschild is a satisfactory wine, even if in my opinion it pales again subsequent success in so-called challenging vintages such as 2006 or 2008. It came across tight and broody on the nose, a hint of seaweed tincturing the black fruit, later on a whiff of smoke. It does not feel as refined as either the 2004 Lafite-Rothschild or the 2004 Latour. The palate is medium-bodied and shows more class than the aromatics - cohesive and with just the right amount of grip, a little chewy perhaps but with a pleasant saline sensation towards the correct finish. It ticks all the boxes but does not go that extra mile. T. 2004 Petrus Pomerol from this lot has the following scores - Wine Enthusiast 97 points, Wine & Spirits Magazine 95 points. This is the tasting note for 2004 Petrus Pomerol from Robert Parker - The 2004 Petrus is a vintage that I had not tasted for a while and whilst it is an exemplary Pomerol, it does not rank within the top tier of wines from the iconic estate. Nevertheless, it has a wonderful, quite powerful bouquet with kirsch and crushed flowers, violets and truffle, perhaps even a seam of cinnamon in the background. The palate is gently moving into its secondary stage of evolution. The fruit is darker than the 2004 Cheval Blanc tasted (blind) alongside, fine structure, a little broody perhaps but with satisfying depth. Perhaps like the 2004 Haut-Brion, it ticks all the boxes but does not quite deliver the personality or the charm of other vintages and as such, it has never quite achieved the promise it showed from barrel. My comments are begrudging given the quality. But this is Petrus.