Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Bordeaux Vintage 1982 Right Bank
Riverpark NYC
10/02/2012

This was the 3rd of a series of Bordeaux Vintage 1982 dinners with this same local group this year. A most enjoyable time complemented by the good food and great service at Riverpark.

2007 Pascal Cotat ‘Le Mont Damnes’ Chavignol
Steely with that Cotat bracing acidity and stern structure. This wine, consistent with other Cotat wines during the same vintage, was highlighted by lively ripe white fruit and was fleshy. Lingering finish. I agree with an overheard comment that it was “Burg-like”. A-

2003 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese
A big, rich Riesling. Sweetness had slightly subsided from earlier bottles. Imho, still too early to be drinking this and a few more cellar years can probably remove excesses. I liked it with the pate from the assorted cured meat starter. B

1982 Ch. Canon Saint-Emilion
Nice expressive nose with some funk in the beginning that blew off. The wine was quite uptight in the first pout with its lean, medium-bodied structure. Opened-up with air time revealing elegance with good acidity. Revisited at the end of meal and was consistently pleasurable. A-

1982 Ch. Pavie, Saint-Emilion
It’s been a very long stretch of wine-drinking days since I can remember saying “I’m enjoying a Pavie”. Slightly creamy, with enough ripe black fruit in a big, full-bodied structure. This was smooth and had more classic Bordeaux taste to it than any recent Pavie that I’ve had. B+

1982 Ch. Magdelaine, Saint-Emilion
Fresh very Bordeaux bouquet with the tobacco, leather and mineral notes. Ripe lush red fruit, with lively acidity and savory element. A very good bottle of Magdelaine. A

1982 Clos Fourtet, Saint-Emilion
Came across as lean and thinner, but still showed a nice balance. Given the depth on the positive side of wines tonight, this was average. B

1982 Ch. La Dominique, Saint-Emilion
Corked

1982 Ch. Certan de May, Pomerol
Easily one of my favorite bouquet tonight with excellent cigar box, leather, and roast herb components. The nose supplemented a nice, silky and a feminine wine with enough admirable muscles in the right places. A-

1982 Ch. L’Evangile, Pomerol
In the same flight as the La Conseillante, this came across as just a tad more modern wine. Some milk in its expressive ripe fruit, confection and mineral nose. Very pleasurable and deeply complex. Hard to state on where to start with this TN, because this wine deserves to be contemplated on while sitting alone in a comfortable chair by a fireplace during a cold winter night. Very long finish. A-

1982 Ch. La Conseillante, Pomerol
A classic mature Pomerol bouquet with tobacco, wet leaves and some freshly-baked confection. A well-structured medium-weight wine still showing some tannin, amidst elegance and notes of baked pie with black and blue fruit. Did I already say “classic”? A-

Ramon,

Thanks for sharing your notes.

It's ironic in a way that an old-fashioned St. Emilion was rated higher than wines such as the Pomerols that are generally considered a lot more sexy.
I like Magdelaine too, but it takes a very long time to reach its peak, and so is often misjudged when young.
This château is now a Moueix estate, but no longer exists as such. It was absorbed by Belair Morange (formerly Château Belair).

I don't know where you guys dig up all these great 30 year old wines, but you sure as heck make me jealous .

All the best,
Alex

Alex,

Yes, that bottle of 1982 Magdelaine was sublime and memorable. I’ve had it in previous tastings and liked it, but this particular one just out-performed.
I tend to score relative to my knowledge of the prices of the wines drank during the dinner. The Pomerol wines may have been scored at or lower than the ones from Saint Emilion, and it’s mainly because they (Certan de May, La Conseillante and L’Evangile) are to my knowledge 1.5x to 2x the price of most of the Saint Emilion wines that we had. In other words, I may “penalize” those that are priced higher, simply because I expect them to perform better and in line with their price level.

Can’t speak for how bottles were acquired by others in the group, although I know that the La Conseillante was 1 of 12 bottles from a purchased case by one of the attendees. Retailers that I’m comfortable with from Winesearcher pro, as well as other wine forums where trading and selling wines by other enthusiasts is common, are pretty much my source for older bottles that I had never bought simply because I wasn’t into Bordeaux then or just couldn’t afford to buy back in the days. If you just check winesearcher, you'd see that there are a lot of 1982 wines available in the US. I’ve also had my fair share of corked, stewed, badly-treated bottles throughout my buying years, though.

Ramon

Ramon,

You wrote that "there are a lot of 1982 wines available in the US".
Color me jealous...

I wonder if Wine Searcher would work over here...

Alex R.

Wine Searcher is world wide, Alex.

Nice report, Ramon. Never had a Magdelaine. And yes, Alex, Wine Searcher is world wide. Not sure if you will get a lot of stores in France without a "Pro" subscription. Lemme see...


...a Wine Searcher search for 1982 Magdelaine available in France showed 3 stores, one of which is a sponsor (which will show without a paid account) and two of which are not (which will only show with a paid "pro" account). La Bergere in Bordeaux is a sponsor, Cave Elzevir in Paris is not, and the third, My Precious Wine Finder Online, looks more like another search website than an actual store. Try wine-searcher.com and see what you think.

Ramon thanks for your notes from your elitist little clique. And thanks for inviting me. I could have jumped on the Concorde at short notice...
We landed a couple of 82 Magdelaines at a good price here and I concur with you...I think Dale is a huge fan too...I can honestly say it is one of the best 82s I have had this year. I would love to try Pavie too. Conseillante I had in December, and it has been in the sweet spot for over a decade.

Ramon,
Interested that we both agreed on the Canon at separate offlines but where we digress was with the Magdelaine and Cdm.

Mike

Mike,

Agree with the Ch. Canon. Very consistent with an earlier '82 tasting early last month with the notorious NYC elitist clique/beautiful people.

Bottle variation, differences in provenance and/or storage, plus other things can account for difference in CdM

But can't tell how different your Magdelaine was from mine ... you've no notes on it!

Ramon