- Location
- London and Connecticut
Thank you so much for organizing this evening Neil and thank you too to everyone for bringing some lovely wines and for your very good company. For some people there has been a lot of 1982 Bordeaux in their lives recently. There were some casualties unfortunately, but this was to be expected I think at this venerable age. 1982s are at their peak and there is no need to hang on to them - drink them while they are joyous like these wines. There were different preferences around the table, but when the wines were in condition, the standard was high. I enjoyed them all - even the ringer 
.
Roederer Champagne Brut Vintage 2012 ***½ nudging ****
Ginger and brioche on the nose together with fresh apple. Lovely and poised on the palate with a lot of energy and liveliness, runs on well two. Drinking well now, but plenty of time here. Finishes well.
Château Magdaleine St. Emilion 1952 ****
Well, this was a turn-up for the books. It turns out that Steve M had pulled the wrong bottle for the evening, but in this case exchange was certainly no robbery. It was served without us knowing what the vintage was (although we of course knew that it wasn’t 1982). This tasted like a seriously old wine, and I guessed that it was from the sixties. I don’t recall ever having had a 1952 claret, so this was an exciting moment. The nose was initially quite elusive with gentle, soft red berry fruit on the nose, but this blossomed with time in the glass and there were additional complex notes of earl grey tea and even rosewater (at low levels). This had a gentle old-wine texture on the palate but not in any tired, generic old-wine style. The tannins are fully melted here. This is a gentle, old-school wine a million miles away from today’s super-charged merlot dominated offerings from the right bank. The wine finishes really well for its age.
Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1982 ***½
An attractive nose here with cool cedary notes, a twist of green-ness and some leafy tobacco. Tasting fully mature on the palate with the wine softening as it runs across the palate. Good acidity here. Finishes with some charcoal and graphite notes. Good, but not better than that.
Château Giscours Margaux 1982 NR
This has a funky, slightly dirty nose with some red fruit beneath. A bit brewed on the palate and it finishes short and with some coarseness. Probably not typical.
Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac 1982*****
Like London buses, you wait ages and then two Duhart-Milon 1982s turn up in a fortnight – what a privilege. This bottle was identical to the one drunk on November 14th. This has a fine, typically Pauillac nose of tobacco, cedar, graphite and cool, but ripe, red-berried fruit. Cool, long, and elegant on the palate with proper concentration on the mid-palate. Finishes with repeating notes of cedar and tobacco. All of a piece and really enjoyable.
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 1982 ****
Notably red-fruited on the nose with crisp, lifted notes of cranberry and redcurrant together with some tobacco-y notes. Spicy and cool on the palate dominated by an impression of red fruit. Lifted – there’s plenty of acidity here. Finishes with a minty twist. GPL is not a favourite of mine, but this was a very good wine.
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou St. Julien 1982 NR
Corked. Not badly, but definitely so unfortunately.
Château Calon-Ségur St. Estèphe 1982 ***½
This had quite a high toned nose of red fruit once again together with some cedary elements. Quite similar to the Grand-Puy-Lacoste in many ways but perhaps just a little less forceful on the palate. Similarly, good acidity here. Finishes well.
Château Montrose St. Estephe 1982 *****
I’ve been looking forward to a really good bottle of Chateau Montrose from a top vintage, having had some disappointments, and this one duly delivered. This has a big, bold nose of plummy fruit – it is immediately exciting and of obvious quality. Deeply fruited on the mid-palate but with no heaviness. Finishes very well. A complete wine, with time in hand.
Château Sociando-Mallet Haut-Medoc 1982 NR
We went through two bottles of this. The first was not served and the second one was not right. There was possibly low-level TCA here, but in any case the nose had that brewed tea element that I associate with senescent Barolo – it was also pungently green in an unattractive way. There was a decent wine beneath all this though.
Château Guiraud Sauternes 1989 ****
As I remarked to Neil, the sweet wine often gets overlooked even when it is delicious as this one was. And typically, I failed to take a full note. However, I remember notes of caramel and butterscotch on the nose leading to a really elegant wine on the palate with notes of caramelised orange among others. Very good indeed.
.Roederer Champagne Brut Vintage 2012 ***½ nudging ****
Ginger and brioche on the nose together with fresh apple. Lovely and poised on the palate with a lot of energy and liveliness, runs on well two. Drinking well now, but plenty of time here. Finishes well.
Château Magdaleine St. Emilion 1952 ****
Well, this was a turn-up for the books. It turns out that Steve M had pulled the wrong bottle for the evening, but in this case exchange was certainly no robbery. It was served without us knowing what the vintage was (although we of course knew that it wasn’t 1982). This tasted like a seriously old wine, and I guessed that it was from the sixties. I don’t recall ever having had a 1952 claret, so this was an exciting moment. The nose was initially quite elusive with gentle, soft red berry fruit on the nose, but this blossomed with time in the glass and there were additional complex notes of earl grey tea and even rosewater (at low levels). This had a gentle old-wine texture on the palate but not in any tired, generic old-wine style. The tannins are fully melted here. This is a gentle, old-school wine a million miles away from today’s super-charged merlot dominated offerings from the right bank. The wine finishes really well for its age.
Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1982 ***½
An attractive nose here with cool cedary notes, a twist of green-ness and some leafy tobacco. Tasting fully mature on the palate with the wine softening as it runs across the palate. Good acidity here. Finishes with some charcoal and graphite notes. Good, but not better than that.
Château Giscours Margaux 1982 NR
This has a funky, slightly dirty nose with some red fruit beneath. A bit brewed on the palate and it finishes short and with some coarseness. Probably not typical.
Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac 1982*****
Like London buses, you wait ages and then two Duhart-Milon 1982s turn up in a fortnight – what a privilege. This bottle was identical to the one drunk on November 14th. This has a fine, typically Pauillac nose of tobacco, cedar, graphite and cool, but ripe, red-berried fruit. Cool, long, and elegant on the palate with proper concentration on the mid-palate. Finishes with repeating notes of cedar and tobacco. All of a piece and really enjoyable.
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 1982 ****
Notably red-fruited on the nose with crisp, lifted notes of cranberry and redcurrant together with some tobacco-y notes. Spicy and cool on the palate dominated by an impression of red fruit. Lifted – there’s plenty of acidity here. Finishes with a minty twist. GPL is not a favourite of mine, but this was a very good wine.
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou St. Julien 1982 NR
Corked. Not badly, but definitely so unfortunately.
Château Calon-Ségur St. Estèphe 1982 ***½
This had quite a high toned nose of red fruit once again together with some cedary elements. Quite similar to the Grand-Puy-Lacoste in many ways but perhaps just a little less forceful on the palate. Similarly, good acidity here. Finishes well.
Château Montrose St. Estephe 1982 *****
I’ve been looking forward to a really good bottle of Chateau Montrose from a top vintage, having had some disappointments, and this one duly delivered. This has a big, bold nose of plummy fruit – it is immediately exciting and of obvious quality. Deeply fruited on the mid-palate but with no heaviness. Finishes very well. A complete wine, with time in hand.
Château Sociando-Mallet Haut-Medoc 1982 NR
We went through two bottles of this. The first was not served and the second one was not right. There was possibly low-level TCA here, but in any case the nose had that brewed tea element that I associate with senescent Barolo – it was also pungently green in an unattractive way. There was a decent wine beneath all this though.
Château Guiraud Sauternes 1989 ****
As I remarked to Neil, the sweet wine often gets overlooked even when it is delicious as this one was. And typically, I failed to take a full note. However, I remember notes of caramel and butterscotch on the nose leading to a really elegant wine on the palate with notes of caramelised orange among others. Very good indeed.
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