1982 Pichon-Lalande, Pauillac

“This delivers on all fronts; a sharp, edgy, enveloping and forceful wine with so much life and lift. The nose smells of baked cherry pies with vanilla, exotic spices, cola, mint, blackcurrants and strawberries. Racy, showy and shiny with floral accents of potpourri as well as tobacco, cigar box and caramel. Smooth and supple, extremely well framed on the palate with bite and grip to the plush but also mineral-laced tannins. This is still shining brilliantly at more than 40 years old: confident and truly memorable. Lots of life to go for this beauty. Winemaker Jean-Jacques Godin. (GH)” (05/2023)

“A great example of a word-of-mouth hit, the 1982 Pichon Comtesse has built its reputation by delivering time and time again, giving the First Growths a run for their money with its cigar box and pencil lead Pauillac signature and the caressing ripe fruits of a great quality vintage. I have tasted this every two years for the past six years, and each time I have expected it to be past its peak, and each time it has proved me wrong. You get plenty of tertiary flavours, certainly, with truffles and rose petals, together with exotic dried spices of turmeric and cumin and barely-there tannins. Got to be the best value of the wines tasted in this 1982 horizontal, even though it has risen in price over the past 5 years. May-Eliane de Lencquesaing owner at the time, having stepped up to take over her family estate in 1978. Yield 40hl/h, harvest 16-30 September.” (10/2023)

“I've been lucky enough to have had the 1982 Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande a half dozen times over the past few years and it continues to show magically. Tasted out of a magnum, it has a still lively plum/ruby hue as well as gorgeous Pauillac notes of blackcurrants, smoked earth, cedarwood, pencil lead, and forest floor. It's unquestionably fully mature and in that sweet spot where it has incredible aromatics, beautiful, sweet fruit, no hard edges, and a gorgeous finish. I don't see it falling off a cliff any time soon, yet there's no need to delay gratification either. This is a magical, heavenly Bordeaux I wish every reader could taste. (JD)” (12/2020)

“Blame it on the excess of youthful excitement, but my original purchase of 1982 Pichon-Lalande has now been gone from my cellar for many years, and I would love to have those bottles back today, as this vintage has just gotten better and better with the passing of time and is clearly the greatest Pichon-Lalande after the 1961 that I have ever tasted! It had been four years between bottles and this recent showing at our vertical was sheer perfection and clearly the finest showing of the 1982 that I have seen yet, as the wine offers up stunning depth and aromatic purity, tied to a lovely veneer of exoticism that even the superb 1989 cannot keep pace with at this time! The bouquet soars from the glass in a celestial blend of plums, sweet black cherries, mocha, a lovely touch of musky violet, cigar smoke, summer truffles, gorgeous soil tones, almost a hint of smoked meats, menthol and toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is very pure and precise, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with stunning complexity and grip, melting tannins and a very, very long, very pure and utterly profound finish. I have always loved this vintage of Pichon-Lalande, but it seems that it has finally reached its true apogee of peak drinkability in the last couple of years and I have clearly underrated this wine in the past! (JG)” (02/2020)

“While bottles that have been traded or traveled extensively are beginning to tire, I was fortunate to buy a case of the 1982 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande from a cold cellar in Alsace where it had remained unmoved since release. Given impeccable storage such as this, the wine remains simply remarkable and numbers one of the vintage's greatest achievements. Soaring from the glass with aromas of cassis and blackberries mingled with hints of cigar wrapper, dark chocolate, licorice and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and velvety, with a sensual and enveloping core of fruit, rich but melted tannins and a long, resonant finish. Seamless and complete, I'd choose a pristine bottle of the 1982 Pichon Lalande over any of the Pauillac first growths, and I'm trying to ration my remaining half-dozen bottles without much success. (WK)” (12/2022)

“Another dazzling wine, the 1982 Pichon Lalande is utterly profound from the very first taste. In the glass, the 1982 is powerful and explosive, with seemingly endless layers of flavor that continue to unfurl over time. Vivid, intensely aromatic and seamless, the 1982 has enough pedigree and depth to drink well for at least several decades. What a wine! (AG)” (06/2017)

“This unfurls with amazing grace, as refined tannins let the warmed cassis, macerated plum, pain d'épices, melted licorice, roasted alder and smoldering tobacco notes drape together and hang endlessly on the finish. A stunner that has been stuck at at this sublime point for a while, with no signs of moving any time soon. Thoroughly sublime and still the modern-era high-water mark for these wines. (JM)” (11/2014)

“Gorgeous, mellow, sweet fruit. Still fresh with some raciness. Rich and glorious. Definitely not on the way out yet! 18.5/20 Points (JR)” (01/2023)