Eric Asimov, Eric LeVine, Roy Hersh, Don Cornutt and I, along with 11 others, including unbelievably gracious host Mark Taylor were fortunate enough to be part of a truly incredible tasting of '82 Bordeaux, organized by Yves Durand at Mark’s home/art gallery in Atlanta. I promised Eric Asimov he’d get first publishing of the event, but it was difficult for the rest of us to hold back, as it was an incredible experience any wine lover would be honored to be part of, as I was - very much so.
I believe all but one bottle (or thereabouts) was from Mark’s cellar, bought on release, and if I could come away with one key point of information, it is that proper storage, and fully trackable provenance was absolutely key. You’ll read why, most obviously in flight 2 of the evening.
Here is Eric Asimov’s piece on the evening - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/dining/reviews/tasting-bordeaux-from-1982.html?_r=2&ref=dining
I’ll leave the quality writing to the professionals, and just post my notes, as I took them down during the event.
Each flight was served blind, and we were to write our notes on the sheet, and were assigned one wine each flight to discuss (12 of us were assigned with verbalizing our thoughts, with two persons each bottle, each flight.) It was a fantastic exercise for me, and I imagine many others who were present - most of whom were VERY experienced Bordeaux drinkers, and fancied themselves experts on identification (as we also made an exercise of trying to identify which wines were which, matching bottle numbers with the wines listed on the sheets), which often had interesting results. Great company, phenomenal wines, and exquisite hosts in Mark and Judith Taylor.
All vintages 1982 unless otherwise noted
First flight:
Chateau La MIssion Haut-Brion
Chateau Pichon-Lalande
Chateau Gruaud-Larose
Chateau Beychevelle
Chateau Figeac
Chateau Lynch-Bages
Notes: Bottle 1 - Classic vintage Bordeaux nose of graphite, musky flowers, but some bright cherry notes hint at youth. Mouthfeel a bit soft, rather sweet fruit, more graphite on the finish. My 1st in the flight, overall 5th. (Lynch-Bages - I guessed Pichon-Lalande)
Bottle 2 - So much graphite at first, I thought it was the pencil in my hand (and I subsequently switched to a pen). The nose is otherwise very reticent. Still quite tannic, but well developed - definitely has time left. LONG finish. My 3rd choice, overall 2nd (Beychevelle - I guessed correctly)
Bottle 3 - Interesting nose - metallic (iron), slight hint of pickle juice (which made me think of American oak), beautiful initial mouthfeel, acidic, but almost vinegar-like. My 5th, overall 3rd (Figeac - I guessed correctly)
Bottle 4 - Fantastic balanced nose, silky mouthfeel, finish a bit bitter but long, sweet, complex. My 2nd in the flight, overall 1st. (Pichon-Lalande - I guessed La MIssion Haut-Brion)
Bottle 5 - Nose tight (too cold?) but starting to emerge. Big, lush mouthfeel, long finish. My 4th, overall 4th (Gruaud-Larose, I guessed correctly - note that I was TRULY guessing, I had no idea)
Bottle 6 - Perfumed, slightly raisined nose, lots of acid, mature tannins, great finish. My 6th, overall 6th (La Mission Haut-Brion - the one bottle in this flight that was not from Mark’s cellar, so likely it was cooked from inconsistent storage. I guessed Lynch-Bages)
Second Flight
(This was almost entirely First Growths, and I literally could NOT come up with a favorite - not a single one stood out, and it was the most incredible display of excellence in a flight that I could ever conceive. Simultaneously staggering and humbling)
Chateau Margaux
Chateau Haut-Brion
Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
Chateau Lafite-Rothschild
Chateau Latour
Chateau Cheval-Blanc
Bottle 1: Nose was strong and beautiful at first, but closed down after a short while. Strong, perfumed, leather, cherries immediately on the palate, a burst of sweetness as soon as it hits your mouth, dusty tannins, long finish. (Latour - I guessed correctly)
Bottle 2: Rustic, graphite, earthy - smells still very young. Strongest acidic profile of the wines thus far, nice silky mouthfeel, dusty tannins, seems so young - to me, the youngest showing of the wines thus far, beautiful fruit (Mouton - I guessed correctly)
Bottle 3: Another beautiful nose, cedar, leather, berries, also huge acidic profile, sweet fruits, graphite, this wine screams both elegance and rustic (Lafite - I guessed correctly)
Bottle 4: Nose tight, very well balanced, tannins seem fully developed but the acid hints at further life. Beautiful finish, nose opening up after a short time in the glass. (Haut-Brion, I guessed Margaux)
Bottle 5: A bit musty on the nose, but pleasant. Very clean and perfumed. Beautiful rich and silky mouthfeel, finish accelerates quickly and lasts quite long - fantastic finish on this wine. (Margaux, I guessed Haut-Brion)
Bottle 6: Unique nose - I can’t get much from it, but this wine really emerges on the palate, and gets HUGE. Big fruit, explosive profile. The finish is rather big as well, but fades slowly, as it would have to, since it starts so big. I’m guessing Merlot on this (Cheval Blanc, I guessed correctly)
Note again that if I guessed ANY correctly, it was more sheer luck than any sort of experience. I haven’t had but a tiny percentage of these wines in any vintage, much less experience with '82’s. I’m not claiming any sort of expertise - I’m a mere dazzled observer…
Third Flight
Chateau Lafleur
Chateau Cos D’Estournel
Chateau L’Avangile
Chateau Le Gay
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou
Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases
Bottle 1: (first bottle corked) 2nd bottle - I was unsure if I had properly rinsed my glass of the previous wine, as I got more hints of TCA in the 2nd bottle’s pour. Bright fruit, however, which would suggest otherwise, and lots of minerals. My 4th choice in the flight - we did not rank these for overall placement (Leoville-Las-Cases, I guessed correctly)
Bottle 2: Some floral and fruit perfume is coming through on the nose - nice, but still shy. Seems to have a HINT of TCA (Roy Hersh agreed with me, but others vehemently stated it did not - not that they didn’t notice it, but rather that ‘it did not’. I found that amusing…) Rich mouthfeel, long finish, pretty explosive on the fruit profile. Nose became much more expressive after a short while. My 2nd in the flight (Ducru-Beaucaillou, I guessed Lafleur)
Bottle 3: Another shy nose - subtle but elegant, what comes through. Tannic, fruit still seems hidden behind all the structure in this wine, very long finish. My 3rd in the flight (Cos D’Estournel, I guessed L’Evangile)
Bottle 4: I get stewed fruits, so I suspect this is slightly cooked. Strong metallic character on the flavor profile - something is not right with this wine. My 6th in the flight (Lafleur - I guessed Le Gay)
Bottle 5: Very tight nose yet again - bright acidic mouthfeel, bright fruit, bit of earth, seems slightly advanced in the sweetness of the fruit, dusty small tannins. My 5th in the flight (Le Gay, I guessed Ducru-Beaucaillou)
Bottle 6: Color seems quite bright, beautiful nose, complex - saddle leather, flowers, cherries, really nice and seems young. Beautiful silky mouthfeel, good weight, medium length finish. Easily the best of this flight, this was my 1st in the flight (L’Evangile, I guessed Cos)
Of course, ANY flight of ANY wines would suffer after that 2nd flight, and this could not be more true. We all often mentioned that none of us would be disappointed in any of the wines of the 3rd flight (or any of the wines, but those that were flawed) if sitting at dinner. It’s just damn near impossible to stand up to the level of excellence that flight 2 shared with us all…
Now, you’d think we were done, but Mark Taylor’s generosity knows no bounds, and he decided on another blind flight, this of Burgundy (and one Pinot Noir from our shores). I, somehow, guessed each of these correctly! (Yves, I’m waiting for my Durand Gold Medal!)
Bottle 1: 1990 Leroy Nuit St Georges Les Vignerons, my 3rd choice
Bottle 2: Corked
Bottle 3: 1994 Domaine Romanee-Conti Richebourg, my 5th choice (as I felt it was too advanced, somewhat flawed)
Bottle 4: 1997 Leroy Vosne Romanee, my overwhelming 1st choice (amazing nose on this wine)
Bottle 5: 1999 Leroy Clos du Vougeot, my 2nd choice
Bottle 6: 2005 Arcadian Francesca Pinot Noir, my 4th choice
Eric, Roy, Don and others who were there…please add your own notes, and we can finally now share this incredible experience (at least with our notes and reviews) with the Wine Berserkers…
Thank you so much, Mark Taylor, for letting me be a part of this momentous occasion. One I’ll likely never have the opportunity to repeat!