Wondering what you all think is the best Bordeaux of 1982. The question came up for me when I 1) ran across some YouTube videos of a James Suckling 1982 Bordeaux tasting that was kind of fun to watch (links below), and 2) had the opportunity to purchase the 82 Pichon Lalande at a huge discount.
Suckling and company taste all the First Growths and Cheval Blanc, and conclude that Cheval Blanc and Mouton made the wines of the vintage. However, I’ve read that Pichon Lalande is also in the running, and I can’t help but wonder where it would have placed had it been included in their lineup.
What do you all think? Is PLL as good as the first growths in 1982? Are there other wines also in the running? How do you think these are drinking now? Still improving, at peak, on the downhill slope? Thanks!!!
The videos for those that are interested:
PS- I can’t help but think it’s funny that Mike D of the Beastie Boys is on this panel. I realize he’s a big wine collector, but still, lol.
Personally I’d put Lafleur in first place, followed by PLL and Latour. There are lots of great wines, however. Recently, Léoville-Poyferré was especially impressive.
Lafleur, Latour, Pichon Lalande as William said, but Mouton, Haut Brion, La Mission Haut Brion all belong on the top of the list as does Le Pin. You can recent notes for all those wines on my site.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have quite a few of them from an excellent cellar. Have not had the luxury of Lafleur or Le Pin…
For my palate, Latour was the best by a full measure. It’s a perfect expression of Pauillac with all of the substance and structure to continue a long and graceful plateau, which good bottles haven’t quite reached.
La Mission HB has been 2nd best in my experience, even more dense and compact, with more tar an smoke. Still needs a decade and a long decant. But a near perfect wine to be sure. I found it much better than Haut Brion but that might not have been the best bottle.
Mouton is most like Latour but more plush with a bit more exotic fruit. I strongly preferred the Latour but they are stylistically the most similar
PLL is almost a different animal entirely. Aromatically it has a ton going on, but more pyrazines and structurally much softer and lighter in body despite the relative proximity. My recent bottle was fully resolved and while ethereal, I didn’t see a ton of upside.
Margaux is a very good wine, but PLL and all the others above were more regal and substantial.
Cheval Blanc was redder fruited and a bit coiled up. Older tasters mentioned it was fabulous on release and while it has matured by default, hasn’t improved as much.
I’ll add that L’Evangile belongs in the top echelon, with Gruaud-Larose not too far behind.
La Tour Haut Brion is pretty fabulous as is a good bottle of Canon.
An interesting tasting. From the descriptors and my own experience, I was trying to guess the wine. I got Cheval and Haut Brion right, but was shocked by wines five and six.
When Talbot beats Margaux … then Gruaud-L beats Talbot (imho).
Lafleur and Latour are great as is PL …
with Mouton and Las Cases each bottle is different …
and there are some great right bankers like L’Evangile …
I had Petrus last time only 15 years ago … did not really sing …
Suckling could make an extremely entertaining Tik Tok channel if he were willing to play up the caricature of being a wine critic and be a little self deprecating. Or he could play it 100% serious and make an unintentionally hilarious channel.
Based on the two times I was fortunate enough to taste through 18+ '82’s at Mark Taylor’s annual Bordeaux tasting in Atlanta, my favorites were Margaux and Mouton among the First Growths (both years we tasted them), and Pichon-Lalande, L’Evangile, and Gruaud-Larose among the others.
Although this is completely arbitrary, my curiosity is piqued particularly for the PLL because it is listed as among the top ten of Steven Spurrier’s 100 Wines to to Before You Die. I wonder why PLL was the one 1982 Bordeaux he chose out of all the possibilities. Does anyone have any idea?
1982 Talbot evening with Bobby Alfert
February 4, 2013:
An absolute epic bottle of Bordeaux. An earthy beast loaded with secondary and tertiery notes. Initially, I’m getting slapped in the mouth by an old worn cat of nine tails, very nice…followed by earth, smoke, dusty red fruits.
On the palate, a nice gaminess, hints of (complimentary) bell pepper, tobacco, graphite, a dab of mushroom, great earthy finish, medium to full body. This is putting on an absolute clinic on what old world should taste like. Incredible showing, a poster child for off-the-charts Bordeaux.
RACERCHRIS LIKES THIS WINE:
98 points
March 12, 2022 - Oh my. This was a great bottle. I place this among the small number of very special wines I’ve been privileged to experience in the past few years.
Double decanted in the morning before a long drive to our destination. Served from bottle with dinner of grilled swordfish, roasted potatoes, and baby greens.
Dinner was fine, but entirely forgettable in the light of this wine. My eyes rolled back in my head after the first swallow. Each sip after that kept me in heaven thru the entire dinner. I was fully intoxicated even before the alcohol reached my veins.
A day and a half later, writing this note, my knees still get week just thinking about it.
