TN: 1982 Château Brane-Cantenac (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux)

WINE TALK
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1982 Château Brane-Cantenac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (10/11/2013)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple days –

NOSE: expressive; old wood furniture; black licorice; obvious aged aromas; hint of TCA(?); a touch vegetal.

BODY: garnet color with considerable bricking at the edges; good cork — no signs of seepage, soaked ~1/3, with a couple streaks nearly to the top; spinning capsule; btm neck fill; medium bodied.

TASTE: hint of TCA?; definitely on its downslope; dark-fruited; pencil shavings; drying out and thinning out — probably much better 5 – 8 years ago, for my preferences. I continually flip-flopped on whether this had TCA, which is a good indication that it probably didn’t; rather, this is likely just a fully mature Bordeaux that should be consumed now rather than later.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Sounds like the cork had a runner this is all that is needed for wine to over oxidize … Old bottles like betting on dogs … Iffy … Thanks for the notes … That wine sounded like it was 50 years old, again the cork and premature aging … It would be interesting if you ever get to taste a bottle with a great cork … Cheers. !!!

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I’ve had a clean bottle of this and it is terrific.

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The 1989 is a great bottle of wine.

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Can´t say anything on TCA, but certainly the ´83 BC is better … while ´82 is no bad wine it is somewhat disapointing for an 82. Haven´t had it for some 5 years though, but I much doubt it has improved …

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Cork taint and significant bottle to bottle variations are the common drawbacks of older wines. I bought two cases of 1985 Brane-Cantenac in the late eighties. Only about one third of the bottles were fantastic, the rest was comme ci, comme ça or even unpalatable.

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This was one of the very first cases of wine I bought when in college. I think I paid around $30/bottle. My then-girlfriend’s father also bought a case. I think I shared every one of his bottles, so overall, 24 bottles. They were all consumed quickly, definitely gone by 1994. It was absolutely perfect then. Parker gave it an 87, IIRC, that was when I started to wonder if he and I were on the same page.

The 83 is, indeed, better and should be longer lived, though it’s been a while since I’ve had one of those.

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Thanks for the tip on the '83, guys. I’ll buy a bottle if I ever come across it. [cheers.gif]

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Here notes from a vertical almost 10 years ago!
I agree that the chateau was far less consistent in the 80s and up to the mid 90s.
http://www.connectionstowine.com/bordeaux/vertical/