At 37 years old, this bottle seemed still young to me, with plenty of life remaining. Nose of graphite, pencil shavings, and dark berries. It still has remarkable tannins and a very long finish.
Good bottles of 1982 Beychevelle remind me of the 1982 PLL. There’s a mix of really ripe fruit and highly aromatic green-coffee / herbal scents that both have in common. The PLL is the better wine, but for the price, the Beychevelle might be the smart buy, IMO.
I had a few '73 Beychevelle (in 375s!!) until this December - one was dead, but the other two showed very, very nicely. Frankly, I was shocked, given 1) the disastrous vintage and 2) 375 format.
If you like the ‘82 Beychevelle, try the ‘82 Branaire Ducru. Comparable quality for ‘82 St. Julien at roughly a 40% discount. My favorite Left Bank wine of the vintage (so far) under $150. (Though the even cheaper Meyney is very good)
Over in the Right Bank, the ‘82 La Dominique is an even better value at that quality level at just over $100.
So many wines from the vintage are still incredibly good.
I just experimented with an '82 La Dominique a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. For my palate, it was declining, well into tertiary territory, unlike this '82 Beychevelle. But, I loved the saddle leather and tobacco nose that carried the entire evening. Here’s my blog on that one:
I will check out the Branaire Ducru, if I come across it for a decent price.
How cool is it to open wine that old, and from that crappy of a vintage, and get a welcome surprise?! You’re not the first person I’ve read that experienced surprising results from a 375. Thanks for sharing, cool pic, too.
I just started with a case of ‘66 Beychevelle recently, 1st bottle was alive and kicking, vibrant acidity and good balance, no sign of fading over 3 hours meal, acidity should keep it for years.
Wow, look at your cork, Mikko. Did you use a Durand on that? Thanks for sharing. I might keep my eyes peeled for a ‘73 now. Wonder if they can be found in magnums.
Millesima has 33% off on 3 cases or more and one of the wines that is included in this sale is the 2010 Beychevelle, which brings down the case pricing to $1037.08/per or $86.43/btl from their regular case price of $1547.88/per … seems like a pretty good price if you either like quantity or are willing to partake in a group purchase.
Joseph—This is of course my palate and different actual bottles, but I would argue my experience of the ‘82 La Dominique was one of pretty good remaining fruit. There is clearly brett present, though I think it is a neutral to positive for me in this case, adding elements of smoke, leather, and non-fecal barnyard. While I’ve had older fading Bordeaux’s where it seems like the brett is all that is left (weaker Cordier vintages for example), I think this one is going strong and would be surprised if it would have impressed me more several years ago.
Anyway, that was just a long way of asking if you think it was really in decline or just exhibiting tertiary notes from the brett?
Btw, I’ve found the Branaire shows up a lot on Wine searcher and at auction.
Hi Mark – great question – I am sure it was just the brett I experienced mostly in my bottle of the '82, which was a positive for me. I didn’t get hints of raspberry and cherry until later in the evening, and they were still in the background. It also didn’t have a super long finish. The Beychevelle, on the other hand, was very grippy with a finish that went on forever. While not fruit forward, the dark berries were also not subtle. I enjoyed both bottles immensely, but for different reasons.
I will certainly try another of the la Dominique to see if I have a different experience. Thank you for your comments and question! Very insightful.
Will look for a bottle of ‘70 to try. I drank a few vintages of Beychevelle but never had a strong impression until that bottle of ‘66. Probably like Magdelaine, takes a long time to come around.