On 10 December 2022, I participated in a great tasting of 1982 Bordeaux, organized by Alexander Ulrich, using wines from his private collection. The tasting was combined with a dinner at the Sternen Restaurant Kloster Wettingen. I had given a short description of the event and my impressions here.
Introduction
1982 was a vintage that was very highly praised, called a vintage of the century in the early days. It certainly was a great vintage, and I tasted one of the best wines of my life, the 1982 Château Margaux in Berlin, in 1991 – when the wine had just begun opening up. I tasted some 1982’s since, and mostly, they were really in great shape. 40 years after the vintage, however, it seems that the 1982 vintage is losing a bit of its glamour. At least, in my opinion, some wines had some scratches in their reputation and disappointed a little. Not that they were bad (in this tasting of 28 wines, there were only two or three that I would consider having reached the bottom of their development curve, or being almost dead), but some did not show what I would have expected. 1982 Château Angelus, for instance, was a wine that I would have thought would shine out many others, but it didn’t.
The Actual Tasting
All wines had been decanted more than two hours prior to tasting, and all of them were served blind. We only learned about the identity after having given our opinions on the wines. Alex served the wines in flights of four, and with one exception, he served wines from the same region, which would allow to have wines with certain similarities and without great differences that could disturbe the perception – if you have one wine out of four showing totally different characteristics, this might irritate and influence the tasting of the other three. He did not disclose the identity of the region prior to all four wines in the flight having been evaluated.
The wines had been collected by Alex over the years. In other words, he had not purchased them en primeur and then stored them in the cellar, but he had acquired them from different sources, including Steinfels auction house in Zürich, and other traders. Thus, it was to be expected that there could be a little bit of “hit and miss” in terms of how the wines had been stored and treated over the years, though all wine bottles had an adequate fill level and promised a really good tasting.
First Flight: Margaux
The first flight of the 1982 Bordeaux Grand Tasting, with wines from Margaux, consisted of the Châteaux Angludet, Marquis de Terme, Cantemerle and Lascombes. No superstar wines, but very nice Cru Classés that showed quite well.
Angludet showed a rubi colour with slight grenade shade. In the nose, some fruity notes of cassis, but more tertiary notes – leather, game and liquorish. On the palate, the wine was dry, with medium acidity, velvety tannins, leaving a slightly sweet touch (but not sugar-related). This wine clearly had “left bank” characters, Cabernet Sauvignon dominating. TBM 90 points.
Marquis de Terme also came with rubi colour, some dark red fruit, leather in the notes, and a slight hint of a faulty note that vanished. Dry, medium acidity, medium length. My guess was Margaux or right bank, as the wine seemed to show a bit more Merlot and was somewhat softer. Margaux it was. TBM 90 points.
Cantemerle was the third wine in the flight. Rubi colour with slight grenade shade. The nose more opulent, chocolate and dry plum in the nose. More volume on the palate than the other two. Dry, medium acidity, longer. Quite pleasant, with a very nice finish. This wine was still quite alive and will remain enjoyable for another couple of years. TBM 91 points.
Lascombes showed even better, same colour as the other three. Notes of cocoa and some spices in the nose, dry on the palate, with medium acidity, a round mouthfeel and nice length. Beautiful wine, will go on for a while. TBM 92 points.
Second Flight: Saint Estèphe
The second flight presented wines from St. Estèphe.
The first wine in this flight was Cos d’Estournel, one of my real favourites from Bordeaux. However, in this flight, he disappointed me somewhat. Notes of leather and cocoa, quite intense on the palate, dry with medium acidity, quite round… but this being Cos, I had expected more. None the less, not in bad shape. TBM 90 points.
Meyney was next, showing dark red fruit and leather notes. Rather round mouthfeel, nice acidity, good long finish. TBM 91 points.
Calon Ségur was the third wine. Grenade colour, showing some age. Complex aromas, mainly tertiary – cold coffee, caramel, leather, with some fruity notes of dark fruit in rum. On the palate, it was less convincing. TBM 88 points.
The fourth wine, de Marbuzet, had cork taint in my opinion, so I refused to taste it. No note given.
Third Flight: Saint Julien
The third flight of the 1982 Bordeaux Grand Tasting brought us to St. Julien. Some really nice bottles there, which merited rather good ratings.
Lagrange was served as the first wine in this flight. Showing beautiful notes of dark red and black fruit, leather, cigar box. Very nice mouthfeel, integrated tannins, good length. This wine clearly still is a pleasure to taste and drink. TBM 92 points.
Gruaud Larose showed rubi colour with grenade shades. In the nose, not entirely clean initially – suspicion of brett, but that appear to vanish. On the palate, quite nice with good length. For lovers of mature, somewhat aged wines. TBM 90 points.
Leoville Poyferré was next, living up to its reputation that this wine requires time to open up and be enjoyable. In the nose, quite a lot of fruit, cassis, some note of cigar box. On the palate, not as deep as Lagrange. Probably can wait a few years still. TBM 90 points.
Talbot was the fourth wine in this flight. One of our favourite wines in the family, especially of my daughter, it presented itself as a mature wine that has clearly reached (probably just passed) its peak. Dark fruit, leather and cigar box in the nose, the wine appeared a bit flat on the palate. Don’t keep any longer, drink now. TBM 90 points.
Fourth Flight: Saint Estèphe, Margaux, Haut Medoc
The fourth flight presented wines from three regions, St. Estèphe, Margaux and Haut Medoc. Of the four wines, one truly stood out – La Lagune – while the other three were a bit weak or well over the hill.
Les Ormes de Pez was the first wine in this flight, with fruity notes of red currant, leather and game. Medium acidity, medium length. A wine that is past its peak though still drinking nicely. TBM 89 points.
Lafon Rochet should have been left in its grave, this wine has not only past its peak but really has little to please. Slight hint of vinegar. Not undrinkable, but I would not serve it anymore. TBM 81 points.
Brane Cantenac showed a grenade color, not hiding its age. Dark red and black fruit, dry plum, leather notes. A mature wine, medium acidity, good length. Clearly past its peak, but still nice to drink – definitely has seen better times. TBM 88 points.
La Lagune was the surprise of this flight, and in fact of the entire tasting. Within the flight, it obviously was the champion, a wine that is still lively, fresh and quite fruity despite its age – dark red fruit dominating. It gave all of us great pleasure to drink. This wine is one of the very few in the tasting that will still present itself nicely even in a few years. TBM 91 points.
Following this flight, we had the main course of the dinner, with 2009 Château Seguin being the table wine. A pleasant wine, ready to drink. Nice fruit, good length, velvety tannins that are still a tiny bit chewy. TBM 89 points.
Fifth Flight: Saint Emilion and Pirate
The fifth flight showed three wines, including the “pirate” that Alex had chosen and that truly surprised all of us.
Angelus was the first wine in this flight, and having tasted several other vintages of this great cru from St. Emilion, I was disappointed. May be a problem of the bottle. It was not very expressive, flat, aromas not very pronounced. Tannins were nicely integrated, medium length, medium acidity. I gave it disappointing TBM 88 points.
Figeac also didn’t show its best in this tasting. In the nose, cassis and some leather notes, round mouthfeel, good length. A nice St Emilion, though I have seen and tasted better bottles. TBM 90 points.
The big surprise was the 1982 Torres Gran Corona Reserva, a wine from Penedès, Catalunya, Spain, made 100% with Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was smooth as silk, intense, round, very long finish, nice fruit and tertiary notes. Really surprising. TBM 92 points.
Sixth Flight: Pauillac I
Our sixth flight came from Pauillac, a region we had been waiting for during this tasting. Not all of them showed what we would have expected.
Pichon Baron was the first wine in this flight, rubi color, with aromas of dry plum and leathery notes in the nose. Fine acidity on the palate, tannins totally dissolved. This wine drank nicely, but should be consumed now, don’t wait any longer. TBM 89 points.
Pontet Canet was the second wine in this flight. As we tasted the wines blind, our evaluation was not marked by expectations – otherwise, I would have said we were disappointed. Rubi color with some grenade shades, tertiary aromas in the nose – leather, dry plum especially. The tannins have vanished, so the wine appears a little flat. If you haven’t drunk this wine yesterday, drink it now. TBM 88 points.
Haut Batailley was wine number three in this flight. This wine was a bit more alive, some fruity notes, plus dry plum, leather and cigar box. Tannins were very silky but still gave this wine a nice structure. Medium acidity, good length. TBM 90 points.
Batailley surprised me with fine mint notes, in addition to the dark red fruit and leather notes. This wine still shows nicely, its tannins are firm but silky, good length. Potential to be great for another few years. TBM 91 points.
Seventh Flight: Pauillac II
The last flight of the 1982 Bordeaux Grand Tasting continued with Pauillac and, knowing Alex’s nickname or FB avatar “GPL Alex”, we did, of course, expect to have Grand Puy Lacoste in this flight.
Haut Bages Liberal was the first wine in this flight. Tertiary aromas, paired with some notes of dark red fruit. This wine showed medium acidity, medium length but was a bit flat. Drink now. TBM 88 points.
Grand Puy Lacoste still shows quite a bit of fruit – cassis mainly, some tertiary notes, cigar. On the palate, this wine is still very much present. Firm tannins, but nicely integrated, round mouthfeel, long and very nice finish. Great wine with potential to be kept for more years. TBM 91 points.
Château Mouton Baronne Philippe, in later vintages called d’Armailhac, showed quite nicely, with some aromas of dark red fruit, leather and cigar box. Tannins almost dissolved, round mouthfeel. A good wine, though it will not get better – drink now. TBM 89 points.
Finally, we had a 1989 Grand Puy Lacoste that presented itself strongly, with quite a bit of potential. Aromas of dark red fruit, firm but silky tannins, great round mouthfeel, pleasant freshness from its medium acidity, great length. For persons who like a wine that is a bit matured, but still with fruit and good potential, this is a great choice. TBM 92 points.
Conclusion
All in all, my conclusion from this tasting is that some Châteaux are likely to really surprise you – like the 1982 La Lagune, being really outstanding. Great Châteaux normally don’t disappoint, though Angélus and Figeac did not show their strongest. This tasting didn’t really show any 1er Grand Cru Classés (except for Angélus), which would have probably overshadowed many of the smaller châteaux. Another lesson is that the origin of the bottles is really important. Wines that you purchased yourself and kept in good storage over the years will guarantee pleasure for decades. When you purchase from another source, you need to verify how the wines have been stored, so as to avoid negative surprises.
Compared to 1961, a true vintage of the century, 1982 appears to be losing its appeal. The wines of some châteaux certainly will continue to be strong for many years, but several wines in this tasting showed that there is a limit to aging in the smaller châteaux. And if you are a person who prefers fruity wines, don’t select a Bordeaux that has aged for forty years. Only a few would still deserve being called fruity.