Screaming Eagle 2004

- Jancis Robinson MW / BWW2024/Best Wine Critic of the World

There’s always around 10-15 percent Cabernet Franc and Merlot in the blend, and some cold soak before the fermentation starts. Fermentation takes place in small stainless steel tanks with a capacity of 15 hectoliters, and the winemaker (in this vintage Heidi Peterson-Barrett) works with a combination of pigeage and remontage, and always very gentle. There should never be any sharp edges in the eagle. While almost all cult wines are raised in brand new French oak barrels, Screaming Eagle only sees 60-65 percent of new oak. The ageing is around 18-20 months, and there’s no filtration or clarification prior to bottling. I decanted this wine four hours before serving it, which was needed. At first it was quite closed although slightly sweet on the nose, after all – this is the 2004 vintage, which was warm and gave the wines a riper and slightly more sweetish fruit. After a couple of hours, the wine opened up to be more intense and perfumed with is typical cassis notes. We tasted it with other cult wines this time, and as always the Screaming Eagle is the most elegant and silky (unless you pour it next to the Grace Family wine). The oak is extremely well integrated – nowhere in my tasting notes there’s a work of oak. I rather describe the texture as seamless as velvet. If one needs to complain on a small detail, the acidity may be a bit low (typical for the 2004 vintage), but not to that extent it makes the wine unbalanced. What’s really interesting is to see how much the wine evolves during the five hours the wine spent in the decanter, and our glasses. If you look for pure power, this is not the wine for you. If you prefer balance and finesse, and a fine tuned flavor profile with great intensity, this is something to look for. Well, if you find it, and if you can afford it! It was $300 on the mailing list – the 2005 vintage was $500 – but on the second hand market you have to be prepared to pay anything from $1200 to $1800, unfortunately.

- Michel Jamais

"A serious Bordeaux blend. Fruit still very present in the nose plus tobacco and cedar. On the palate cassis, dark fruit, silky tannins. All elegance and class. Very promising Eagle" 96 points

- Jason Lee / Sommelier