Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "This wine remains one of the legends of Bordeaux. It has thrown off the backward, youthful style that existed during its first 25 years of life, and over the last 4-5 years has developed such secondary nuances as cedar and spice box. The creme de cassis, underlying floral note, full-bodied power, extraordinary purity, multilayered texture, and finish of over a minute are a showcase for what this Chateau accomplished in 1982. The wine is still amazingly youthful, vibrant, and pure. It appears capable of remaining fruity and vibrant in 2082! Thank God it is beginning to budge, as I would like to drink most of my supply before I kick the bucket. This is a great, still youthful wine, and, on occasion, one does understand the hierarchy of Bordeaux chateaux when you see the complexity and brilliance of this first-growth. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050."

JAMES SUCKLING: "What an amazing red. It´s so very youthful with toasted oak, light vanilla, and dark berries such as currants and blueberries. Then it turns to mint. This is so fresh and intensely fruity. It lasts for minutes on your palate with each sip. It is so powerful yet elegant. It will improve for hundreds of years. I would still leave it in my cellar for five or ten years. If you need to drink it, decant it three to four hours in advance."

WEINWISSER: "Dichtes, samtenes, komplexes, fein opulentes, erotisches Bouquet, Cassiscreme, Minze, Eukalyptus, Tabak, fein Pflaumen. Samtener, vielschichtiger, cremiger, vielfältiger, dichtverwobener Gaumen mit fein üppiger Struktur, feinem Tannin, vielfältiger Aromatik, sehr langer, dichter Abgang mit vielen Rückaromen. 20/20 trinken - 2030" - A. Kunz.

JEB DUNNUCK: "A wine that’s singing today, the 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild is one of those wines that needs to be tasted to be believed. It almost has a California Cabernet-like sexiness and opulence paired with pure Bordeaux class. Still solid ruby-colored, with a sensational nose of crème de cassis, lead pencil shaving, sweet tobacco, and even some flowery incense, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a multidimensional, layered texture, straight-up awesome levels of sweet fruit, and a blockbuster finish. This is Bordeaux at its most sexy and hedonistic, and it’s just a joy to drink. Given its relatively youthful vibe, I expect it to continue drinking brilliantly for another two decades and even at that point have a gradual decline. There’s no need to delay gratification though, and it’s certainly ready to go."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Epic is a fair word to use for this stunner. Of course, with all bottles of this age, provenance matters, and fortunately for us, this was perfect, as it was bought as a future by the owner! Opulent, long, and intense, the wine fills every nook and cranny of your palate with spicy, tobacco-tinged, ripe cassis and blackberries. There is length, width, balance, and character. Drink from 2025-2052."

DECANTER: "As with the last time I drank this wine two years ago, it is still full of life and energy, with that classic Lafite quality of effortless drinkability. Utterly moreish, it has an amazing cinnamon-edged spice, rich and slightly exotic with brick-red colouring. To recap what we all know to have been a great season, 1982 saw a dry and mild spring, allowing an excellent flowering followed by a dry and hot summer with regular small showers and fresher nights in August. It was an easy harvest that saw an early and large crop, and in the vat rooms they say, it smelt of hot fruit jam. Baron Eric's memories say it all: 'The last day of harvest was a Friday and we knew right away how good the fruit in the tanks was. Everyone was in a great mood, the whole harvest felt like fun.'"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, fast schwarzer Kern, zarter Wasserrand. In der Nase herrliches Brombeerkonfit, florale Anklänge, würzig, feines Cassis, ein Hauch von Nougat, typischer Florentinertouch. Am Gaumen perfekt ausgewogen, elegant und extraktsüß, zeigt einen festen, robusten Tanninkern, mineralisch-salzig, sehr gute Länge, etwas Velour, Nougat und Brombeeren im Abgang, ein großer Wein mit perfektem Finish, Nougat im Nachhall."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Glorious aromas. Dark ruby red. Wonderful perfumes of flowers, berry and lilac. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long and pretty finish. Balanced. Class in a glass. Just as I remember.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. –JS."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "The John Houston label. Extremely dense blackish garnet. Some evolution at the rim. Really intense, complex and spicy on the nose - very Mouton! Rich and balsam. Masses of density on the palate and still some tannin in evidence. Gunmetal. A really slow burner."