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  • Country ranking ?

    21
  • Producer ranking ?

    3
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2040
  • Food Pairing

    carpaccio of scallops & rock salt

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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100 points Decanter

 There are hints of brick orange around the outer edges, but this is still beautifully rich red at the core, and the warmth of the vintage’s sunshine is clear from the first moment. At 34 years of age, the aromatics have almost torrefied, with beautiful burnt caramel notes oozing into rich plum and baked strawberry fruits. Gentle tannins are still holding the fruit unobtrusively but firmly in line. As the wine opens in t...

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The Story

The chateau makes three different wines. The so-called grand vin, that is Château Latour itself, a second wine called Les Forts de Latour and a third wine simply called Pauillac. The grand vin comes from the original part of the vineyards, called the Enclos. This is the most prestigious part of the vineyard where the vines have a fine view of the Gironde estuary. The tradition in Bordeaux says that vines that overlook the water make the best w...

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Wine Information

Vintage: 1982 Bordeaux / James Suckling

The 1982 vintage in Bordeaux changed the wine world as well as changed my life. It was the first vintage I tasted from barrel as a young wine writer working for the American magazine The Wine Spectator, and I was amazed how gorgeous the quality of a young red could be from barrel. I remember the first barrel samples I tasted during the summer of 1983 at Chateau Prieure-Lichine with the late wine autho...

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Vintage 1982

The 1982 vintage in Bordeaux changed the wine world as well as changed my life. It was the first vintage I tasted from barrel as a young wine writer working for the American magazine The Wine Spectator, and I was amazed how gorgeous the quality of a young red could be from barrel.

I remember the first barrel samples I tasted during the summer of 1983 at Chateau Prieure-Lichine with the late wine author and vintner Alexis Lichine. The wines ...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2022 2020 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995
2 259€ +3.2% 2 190€ +25.9% 1 740€ +3.0% 1 690€ +14.0% 1 482€ +5.0% 1 411€ -3.1% 1 456€ -1.5% 1 478€ +0.5% 1 471€ -14.8% 1 726€ +11.9% 1 542€ +185.6% 540€ +74.8% 309€ +26.1% 245€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Full, Ruby red and Dark

ending

Long, Smooth and Lingering

flavors

Blackcurrant, Cigar-box, Spice, Leather, Voluptuous and Smoky

nose

Ripe, Seductive, Unclean and Intense

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Warming, Medium tannin, Concentrated, Complex, Well-Integrated, Developing, Full-bodied, Sharp, Rich, Fresh, Ripe, Dry and Sweet tannins

Verdict

Fine and Masterpiece

Written Notes

The 1982 Latour has always been one of my favorite ‘82s, and this bottle clearly showed why.  It took a little time to shake off some cobewebs/must, but once it did, it was so much richer and deeper than the Lafite.  It was even inky in a Bordeaux way.  Its palate was rich, thick and long with shades of walnut.  Its purple and cassis seemed endless.  One day everyone will wake up and this wine will be $1k more a bottle, which is still $1k less than the average ‘61 (98).

  • 98p

A spell-binding example of the most, consistently stunning wine from the legendary 82 vintage. Everything here is on target, in-place and balanced. There is a wall of ripe, regal, powerful, black and red fruits with a stately air of refinement and aristocracy that coat and fill your palate, leaving with a seamless, 60-second, plus finish. Drink from 2023-2060." - 100/100

  • 100p

Latour 1982 had to stand a little bit in the shadow of Lynch Bages 1982 (in the same flight), but I suspect this bottle wasn’t of perfect provenance. I had a better example of this wine before. Tight and strong, gobs of perfectly measured fruit and tannin, fabulous complexity and length. 97+p.  

  • 97p

The 1982 Latour has always been a quintessential Bordeaux and a quintessential Latour. This is just as composed and detailed as the finest bottles that I have encountered, bridled with captivating blackberry, graphite and cedar aromas that are brilliantly focused. Perhaps it is not quite as showy as it was a few years ago, yet it is still regal and as blue-blooded as they come. The palate is ineffably graceful and chiselled down to the finest detail. One bottle at the International Business and Wine dinner is perhaps more understated than previous examples, but another in Hong Kong delivers such tension and precision that you can only kowtow before it. The 1982 is a masterful, regal Latour and probably now the finest Left Bank exponent of this vintage. Tasted at the International Business & Wine Latour dinner at Ten Trinity and at the Latour dinner in Hong Kong.

  • 100p

I've tasted many 82 Latours and this bottle is one of the best. It shows the wine's depth and complexity which is only now beginning to emerge and classic flavours of cedar, tobacco and cigar notes with cassis in the background are very persistent. An impressive wine at its youthful peak

  • 97p

From the moment it is first opened the 1982 Château Latour is magical. Deep and still vibrant in color, but showing the translucence of age, the 1982 opens with intense, soaring aromatics that hint at what is to come. One taste is all it takes to confirm that the first impression is spot-on. This bottle, from an original wood case purchased on release, is a poignant reminder of how importance provenance is. The 1982 is simply stunning in its beauty. Vivid, multi-faceted and totally sensual, the Latour captures all the best qualities of this famous vintage. In 1982 yields were high, there was essentially none of the sorting that has become de rigueur, and cellar practices were far less ideal on paper than they are today.  And yet, the 1982 is simply stunning. What else can I ask for in a wine? Absolutely nothing. Except for a hope to run into it again. Well-stored bottles will keep for another two decades, although my impression is that the 1982 is not going to improve much from here. Actually, it can’t improve. This is as good as wine gets.

Antonio Galloni, March 2016

 

  • 100p
Medium intense, ruby colour. Firm, young tannic palate with mouthdrying finish, austere long finish. Decant for 5 hours. Peaking in 2035.
  • 92p
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Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

When bottled

1983

Release state price

35€

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

There is a possibility

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16

Inside Information

Post-sale in New York in 2011, from double magnum, an immensely spicy, aromatic bouquet led to that thick, enveloping, total succulence of Latour 1982. So sweet and ripe. Massive, yet gentle, wine that plumbs the depths of sensory perception. In 2013, again from this lovely large format, absolutely stunning. And from bottle, just so classy and aristocratic, rich and oozing structure and tannins that are now soft without losing any of their great impact. One of the all-time greats. Serena Sutcliffe, MW WA 100

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