Haut Brion 1982 (750ML)

99 DE / 98 JS / 97 JA / 96 VM / 96 WA / 95 WS / 19 JR

Although the colour of the wine is now bricking at the rim, the core still has a deep, tawny/garnet hue. The aromas here are significantly mature, including smoke, truffle, cedar and earth. Yet a lovely ripe plummy fruit lingers attractively on the balanced, elegant finish. Although this is drinking well now, fans of mature wine will likely be thrilled with its continued evolution. Top quality from a top vintage and definitely not in decline. Charles Curtis Top 10 Wines of 2023 - Charles Curtis MW, Decanter

This is a phenomenal 1982 and it remains the most drinkable of the first growths. A strong iodine character here enveloped by delicious currants, shaved chocolate and spices. Full body with super-integrated tannins and a refined texture. Wonderful balance. - James Suckling

Five years since my last tasting of Haut-Brion 1982, and a pleasure to sink back into these stunning waves of sweet brambled raspberry and blackberry fruits. Tobacco, graphite, gunpowder tea, sandalwood, vanillin, grilled herbs and iodine come in waves, and this was a clear favourite around the table, balancing exuberance with finesse. Going back to the wine after an hour in the glass, it has held up excellently, but the saline tang was much more dominant. The Dillon family had been owners for five decades at this point, with Duchesse de Mouchy as president, and Jean Delmas winemaker as he had been since 1961 (2nd generation of the family to be in the role and one that he would hand over to his own son in 2004). This was also the last vintage before they bought neighbouring La Mission Haut-Brion. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Good medium amber-edge red. Flamboyant aromas of smoked meat, leather, truffle and burnished oak. Intensely flavored and penetrating, with strong acids giving the flavors terrific cut and grip. I get an impression of strong cabernet tannins. Drink now through 2020. 94. My second bottle showed even more extravagantly expressive aromas of hot stones, tobacco, minerals and marzipan; a denser, silkier palate impression, with more obvious roasted Graves character; and an uncanny combination of sheer sweetness with structure and grip. I rated this wine even higher. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

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. Tasted Dec/2022.--William Kelley, The Wine Advocate

Dark ruby red. Tobacco, roasted coffee and light raisin. Full-bodied, with soft and silky tannins and a long finish. I have always loved this wine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. - Wine Spectator

Much deeper ruby. Edgy and with noticeably more tannin left than the Haut-Brion 1982 tasted alongside. Thick and sweet. Initially a bit austere and tough but it developed in the glass to something gorgeous and possibly with a longer life than the Haut-Brion. Inky and fresh with quite a dry, but not drying, finish. - Jancis Robinson