| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Supple and enveloping, the 1982 Haut-Brion is drinking brilliantly today, wafting from the glass with aromas of red berries and plums, tobacco leaf, cedar box, scorched earth, cigar smoke and walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, broad and sensual, it's fleshy and giving, with a rich core of fruit, melting tannins and a long, resonant finish. At age 40, this is the most charming of the 1982 first growths, yet despite its outgoing personality, it seems to gain in stature with every passing year.
The 1982 Haut-Brion can be a lot better, but this bottle seemed prematurely evolved, although not showing any signs of oxidation, the color was showing amber at the edge. The wine had nice, sweet mulberry, cedary, unsmoked cigar tobacco and tar notes with soft round, juicy flavors
Though having tasted the Haut-Brion 1982 on numerous occasions, it is still a divine Pessac-Léognan to cherish. Here at The Glasshouse restaurant, it has that lovely warm gravel on a summer's day bouquet, brown autumn leaves, bay leaf and here= a slightly more conspicuous note of black olive than I have noticed in the past. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, again a little more diffuse than its fellow 1982 First Growths, but with just as much charm. If anything, it feels a little tighter and more backward than previous examples, perhaps suggesting that bottles of excellent provenance will last many years. It is a wonderful 1982 First Growth, not a pinnacle of the vintage, but disarmingly and utterly charming. Drink: 2014 - 2030.
Lovely truly thrilling wine that is warm, rich and comforting but somehow miraculously still young. Quintessential Haut-Brion. This wine positivley reverberates on the palate. Drink 2000-2015. Date tasted 15th Aug 07.
I know Jean Delmas, whom I respect as one of the world's greatest wine producers, has always thought the 1982 Haut Brion was similar to the 1959, but I have yet to see that. It seems to me the 1989 is closer to the 1959, another perfect wine and one of the all-time great Haut Brions. While the 1982 is a beauty, it has never hit the highest notes this vintage or terroir can achieve. Complex aromatics of scorched earth, smoked herbs, and sweet red and black currants are followed by a full-bodied, silky-textured wine, but I have never felt this offering has possessed the concentration, texture, or multidimensional personality found in such vintages as 1989, 1990, and more recent years. Nevertheless, this is essentially splitting hairs as the 1982 remains a superb Haut Brion. Seemingly less evolved than the 1990, it is capable of another 20-30 years of longevity. Perhaps there is something in reserve that will reveal itself in the next decade. Drink now-2035.
As far as the first-growth 1982s go, this wine is certainly not one of the profound examples of the vintage. Administrator Jean Delmas has always compared it to the 1959, and perhaps it will magically put on weight and length, and ultimately be comparable to that perfect wine. However, this wine seems a far cry form the immortal 1989, and even such recent Haut-Brion greats as the 2000,1998,1996,1995, and 1990. Nevertheless, it is still a relatively youthful wine, with a deep ruby colour that is just revealing a bit of pink at the edge. The wine shows sweet red currant, plum and sweet mineral notes, followed by a medium-bodied, very elegant style, with ripe tannin, beautiful fruit, and 45 secon-length. Its youthfulness is not suprising, but the wine does not seem to have the weight, opulence and viscosity of the top 1982's. Anticipated maturity: now- 2022.
This was one of the best showings yet for this wine, which, to my palate and mind, has never lived up to its early potential. Undeniably, the 1982 does not rival those Haut Brions produced in 1989 and 1990, but the estate still believes 1982 is a modern day clone to their spectacular (and to my taste, perfect) 1959. In this tasting, the 1982 revealed a healthy dark ruby colour with lightening at the edge. Intense, persistent aromas of saddle leather, roasted herbs, scorched earth, and sweet black currant fruit were followed by complex flavours of minerals, spice box, and cedar. Although this medium-bodied, fleshy, ripe, concentrated wine is not a blockbuster, as it unfolds, it reveals layers of flavour in addition to this vineyard's tell-tale complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.
Administrator, Jean Delmas, continues to believe the 1982 is the modern day clone of the 1959 Haut-Brion. I am not willing to go that far, but it is certainly a rich, seductive, medium to full-bodied Haut-Brion that is beginning to reveal some of the tell-tale, mineral, tobacco, ripe, curranty fruit aspects of this fragrant, complex first-growth. The 1982 Haut-Brion is not, in my opinion, comparable to the perfect 1989, but it is a rich, full-bodied wine with well-integrated, sweet tannin, true class and character, and a sweet, expansive, long finish. The wine has been slow to throw off its cloak of tannin and reveal its true Haut-Brion-like personality. It should reach full maturity in 3-5 years and drink well through the first two decades of the next century . Tasted 12 times since bottling with consistent notes
