Wine 1982

Our view on the 1982 vintage

In Bordeaux, the winegrowers are thrilled because there had a large volume of a superb quality grapes thanks to ideal weather conditions from flowering to harvest (mid September). Everything is for the best, except in Sauternes, because torrential rains at the end of September came to spoil the party and drown the Botrytis. In red Bordeaux, all the sectors are at the top with a downside however in Margaux and Graves  (which suffered from the heat because the soils are lighter). The successes are legion and the only limit lies in the very high prices that can reach the bottles of this 1982 vintage (considered to be legendary as 1929, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1959 or 1961). The white Bordeaux wines lacked a bit of acidity to last. In Burgundy, the harvest has been very important and it must be admitted that if the wines were pleasant in their youths, however only the best were ready for long cellaring, probably because of their dilution. New production record (and of good quality) in Champagne, where most has already been drunk, and the 1982 vintage is now difficult to find. The Rhone Valley produced wines of irregular quality except for the 1982 Chateauneuf du Pape (complex and silky). 1982 vintage was globally correct in Loire as in Alsace, but sometimes the wines market prices can be overrated because they take advantage of the great reputation of the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux.