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  • Country ranking ?

    220
  • Producer ranking ?

    14
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Rabbit casseroles with a fruity element

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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This was an outstanding year, where quality went hand in hand with quantity. 1982 Cheval Blanc is rich and complete. It is one of the finest vintages in the latter half of the 20th century​.

The early part of the growing season was mild and moderately wet. April, on the other hand, was particularly dry. The hallmarks of the vintage are the hot month of July and the drought conditions from the 10th of August to the 20th of September.  A heatwave occurred after the 10th of September that was conducive to ripening.

1982 was an early-maturing year, with mid-flowering taking place on the 5th of June and mid-véraison on the 9th of August. The harvest started on the 20th of September, and picking went on until the 2nd of October. As is often the case in Bordeaux, a great vintage (grapes in perfect condition, high sugar levels) went hand-in-hand with above-average quantity. 

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The Story

Whether by design or by pure chance, there are in the world exceptional places. Cheval Blanc is one of these. Combining a unique soil with a symbiotic mix of grape varieties, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, Cheval Blanc produces a wine, which has the rare quality of being good at any age. It is without doubt one of the most consistent wines in the world. Cheval Blanc's unique identity is due to its varied soils, early-ripening microclimate, the percentage of Cabernet Franc in the vineyard, and the close proximity of the finest wines of Pomerol.

Château Cheval Blanc has the rare ability to be good at whatever age. It is enjoyable young or as much as a century old in certain vintages. However, a great wine only reveals its full potential and all its subtle nuances after several years in bottle. It takes time to show its true colours and before reaching its peak. Every vintage of Cheval Blanc is made according to the traditional philosophy that great wine needs to age.
It should nevertheless be said that wines with ageing potential go through several periods, and that each one has its own type of attractiveness. This is all part of Château Cheval Blanc's fascinating complexity. Three different bottles of Cheval Blanc from the same vintage drunk at five, twenty, and forty years of age will each show a different facet of the same wine, variations on the same lovely theme. A bottle of fine wine meant to age is like a library of flavours that develop throughout its existence.
Wine is a "cultural" beverage that is very much alive and develops countless nuances over time. That is why this long waiting period needs to be respected. It is crucial to the wine's evolution, so that it can deliver its very best.

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Wine Information

The 1982 one of the great vintages of the last century.The weather was beneficial to producers throughout the growing season but what made the vintage outstanding was the exceptionally warm weather that Bordeaux enjoyed in September, with average temperatures ranging between 29-40 degrees. This produced a huge crop of wines of exceptional richness and ripeness, with some wines possessing an almost Californian- like character.

The Merlot-based wines of Pomerol and St-Emilion are outstanding, with Pétrus producing one of it finest ever wines. In the MédocPauillac and St-Julien were the most successful communes, withMouton Rothschild and Latour being arguably the 2 finest wines. Most 82s are drinking well now, although the 1st Growths will benefit from further cellaring.

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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 were so fruity with soft and rich tannins. They seemed too drinkable for a young wine, yet Lichine who had over forty years of experience tasting young wines told me the wines were “exceptional” and “some of the greatest young wines ever produced.”

He had invited some of his winemaking pals from the Medoc to a lunch at his chateau following the tasting. And he kept telling them, which included such names as Bruno Prats (then Cos d’Estournel), Anthony Barton (Leoville-Barton) and Jean-Eugene Borie (Ducru-Beaucaillou) that young writers like myself were the future of the region and that they had to make me understand that 1982 was a great year. He was upset that the New York Times and some other magazines had come out saying that the new vintage was not outstanding do to it seemingly early drinkability.

It was also a time an American lawyer in his mid-30s began writing full time on wine, creating a newsletter called The Wine Advocate. Many say Robert Parker built his career on advocating the greatness of Bordeaux’s 1982 vintage, although he obviously did much more.

More importantly, 1982 vintage marked a big change in the way Bordeaux was produced. It underlined fruit and ripe tannins in reds as well as a slightly higher level of alcohol and lower, or less strong acidity – higher pH. This is what gave the wines such wonderful texture, or drinkability in their youth.

 

It was a big change from most vintages before 1982 that produced hard and tannic wines that needed years, even decades to soften. The 1982 vintage became a model vintage for red Bordeaux in the future, and arguably for the wine world at large. Think of all the fruit-forward reds that are produced today in the world – for better or for worse. Alcohols are at least two, sometimes three or four degrees higher. Tannins are stronger yet riper. And natural acidities are lower. Chapitalization – adding sugar to the fermenting grape must to increase alcohol – seems a thing of the past.

“Young wines are so drinkable now,” said Alexander Thienpont, the winemaker of Pomerol’s Vieux-Chateau-Certan and Le Pin. The latter made its reputation on early drinkability. “It’s what people expect in a modern wine today.”

I believe some of the change with the 1982 was due to the “California” like growing conditions the Bordelias spoke of at the time. The summer was extremely hot and sunny. The harvest was warm and mostly clear of precipitation. Grape yields were high with many of the best wine properties making more wine per hectare than set by French authorities. In fact, the late Jean Pierre Moueix of Chateau Petrus always told me that the 1982 vintage would have been at the same level as the 1945 or 1949 vintage if yields had been lower.

Yet, the experience of the growing season and harvest in 1982 made a whole new generation of winemakers in the region understand the importance of picking grapes later and riper. They understood early on when wine critics such as Parker and myself as well as members of the US wine trade enthused so much about the 1982 reds from barrel. This also was the beginning of the popularization of barrel scores used to purchase wines.

 

The US market was the biggest market to buy top notch Bordeaux with the 1982 vintage. It began a decade of intense buying of Bordeaux in the states with consumers buying first growth and second growth as well as Pomerols and St. Emilion. Americans regaled in the wine’s juiciness and beauty. They also made a shit load of money if they held on to the wines in sold them later. For example, most of the first growths sold for about $40 a bottle in 1983 as futures and some are now as much as $3,500 a bottle. Prices for 1982 are down slightly now,  but the price appreciation over 30 years is impressive after 30 years.

So is the quality of the wines still for the most part. I am lucky enough to drink top 1982 on a regular basis, and the best ones never cease to amaze me with their generous and complex fruit and polished, ripe tannins. Bottle variation can be a problem because many of the top names have been bought and sold and stored all over the world, but on a whole it is a treat to drink a great 1982.  And the vintage always reminds me of my beginnings in the wine world

 

James Suckling has been writing about and tasting wine for over 30 years. He worked for 28 years as a senior editor of the American wine magazine The WIne Spectator,  and in July 2010 he left to start his own website www. jamessuckling.com and wine events company. He also is wine editor of the Asia Tatler group with luxury magazines through the region including Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, and Malaysia. His specialty is Italy and Bordeaux, but he enjoys tasting and discovering wines from all over the world. His most recent great wine adventure was tasting 57 vintages of Chateau Petrus in the Hamptons, but he also just enjoyed sharing great Barolos from Bruno Giacosa, Roberto Vorezio, and Giacomo Conterno with wine lovers in Seoul.

by James Sucking

 

 

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2015 2010
910€ +3.9% 876€ +12.3% 780€ +32.2% 590€

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.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

37 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Full

ending

Long, Round and Flavorful

flavors

Blackcurrant, Coffee and Mineral

nose

Mature

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Medium tannin, Complex, Concentrated, Well-structured, Medium-bodied, Harmonious, Ripe, Firm, Dry and Silky tannins

Written Notes

The 1982 Cheval Blanc was more reserved. It was dustier and lighter than expected, as the Canon stole the show. There was great intrigue and subtlety to its aromatics. This, too, was smooth and long, and it continued to improve and flex more and more. Omar hailed Cheval as the ‘one-third wine.’ It is right next to Pomerol, its gravelly soil is reminiscent of Graves, yet it is St. Emilion, of course. Ultimately, I gave it the same score as the Canon, but the Canon was more enjoyable today (95).
  • 95p
This remarkable vintage ideally ripened the exceptional blend for Cheval Blanc. The blend had 60% Cabernet Franc, 34% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. This blend produced a wine with an intensive cherry-red colour and an extremely elegant and charming complex nose of chocolate, mocha, ripe blackcurrants and hints of butterscotch. The medium-bodied palate is very delicate and classy but concentrated. A chewy wine with vivid acidity and minerality, intense fruitiness supported by firm and ripe tannins. Roasted coffee and chocolate flavours dominate in the long finish. The immense concentration and the harmonious balance guarantee long ageing potential for this lovely wine.
  • 96p

Ruby. Anise, blueberries, some spices, dark berries, detailed and nuanced, some cedar notes. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, anise, some spices, nuanced, detailed, some spices, liquorice touch, cedar, long. 96

  • 96p

Red and black fruit, herbs, licorice, and an intoxicating note of chocolate covered, roasted coconut. The coconut aromatic was absolutely compelling and remained the entire evening. Does the coconut aroma come from the cooperage? On the palate, dense, concentrated, plush, rich, sexy, velvety fruit bathed your senses. Very deep and complex, with multiple layers of fruit that cascades over your palate. This is pure elegance.

  • 97p

Dark and dense in color. A rich and expressive nose of leather, smoke and forest floor, a nice full palate entry with some exotic earthy notes swirling around a rich cassis core, mellowing out and thinning a bit in the finish, this wine started beautifully-then the thinning and slightly drying finish disappointed. I thought this might be “the one”, the wine of the night…it got to the brink but fell short. Maybe 5 years ago? Parker effusively praised this wine, giving it a 98 on release and then re-rating it 100 in a later tasting. Our bottle was very good, but not at that level. My score: 91.

  • 91p
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Information

Origin

St. Emilion, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Excellent

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

1h

Drinking temperature

16
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