Wines

100 Points! Over the last couple of years, I had inclined to the view that the 1986 vintage was eclipsing the 1982 Mouton Rothschild, but two perfectly conserved bottles this year put paid to that hypothesis. One of the emblematic wines of the vintage, offering up aromas of sweet crème de cassis, cigar wrapper, espresso roast, spices and vine smoke, it's full-bodied, broad and enveloping, with a rich core of fruit; ripe, supple tannins; and a long, expansive finish. Lavish, even flamboyant, and at the same time seriously structured and quintessentially Mouton, it encapsulates the greatness of the vintage. For readers interested in numbers, the 1982 attained 12.3% alcohol with a pH of 3.64 (that information is the result of a great personal misfortune, because I sent a sample from a tragically corked magnum to the local enology lab for analysis out of curiosity). - William Kelley, robertparker.com, 2022

100 Points! One of the great wines of the vintage, and the last produced under the ownership of the Woltner family, the 1982 La Mission Haut-Brion remains remarkably youthful, exhibiting a saturated ruby-black hue. Unfurling in the glass with rich aromas of black fruits, cigar smoke, loamy soil, black truffle, peat and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, broad and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, ripe tannins and a long, expansive finish. Over the last decade, the wine has become increasingly seamless and elegant, without losing any of its vitality, and it is now clear, if it were ever in doubt, that this wine can stand alongside vintages such as 1961 and 1955 as one of the great La Mission Haut-Brions of the 20th century. Readers should note that the La Tour Haut-Brion of the same vintage performs at a very similar level of quality. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

97 Points! One of the most sensual, viscerally appealing wines of the vintage is the 1982 La Conseillante, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping Pomerol that wafts from the glass with aromas of minty blackberries, raspberry liqueur, black truffle, sweet soils tones and spices. Supple and expansive, with melting tannins and a long, perfumed finish, it's one of my favorite 1982 Bordeaux today. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

99 Points! The 1982 Cheval Blanc is a sumptuous, sensual wine, bursting with aromas of sweet raspberries, orange rind, dried flowers, cedar box, black truffles, vine smoke and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, it's supple and seamless, with a fleshy mid-palate, melting tannins and a long, expansive finish. As is often the case at this address, at age 40, it's the wine's Cabernet Franc component that really dominates its personality, meaning that it gratifies the intellect as completely as it does the senses. I've drunk the 1982 Cheval three times this year, and it has been remarkably consistently brilliant. - William Kelley, robertparker.com, 2022

93+ Points! I have been drinking this wine out of half bottle, and this was the first regular bottle I have had over recent years. While this Pomerol is loaded, it remains extremely backward - hence the lower score. I would not touch a bottle for another 5-8 years. The half bottles are tasting at least 4 to 5 points better, and are obviously much more evolved. The full bottle exhibited a dense plum/purple color along with notes of cedar, forest floor, sweet jammy plums, black currants, licorice, and tobacco leaf. Full-bodied and powerful with high tannins as well as a rustic, massive mouthfeel and finish, it should be fully mature by 2015, and keep until 2030+ - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2009