Beschreibung:

Château Latour--Vintage 1982
1 impériale per lot
Château Latour--Vintage 1982 Pauillac, 1er cru classé. Château-bottled Vintage note: 1982 is without a doubt one of the legendary vintages of our time. It followed a classic pattern for the exceptional year - a winter with a fair bit of precipitation followed by a warm and dry spring and a very hot summer with drought conditions that lasted straight through until the 15th of September. Once the weather broke on the 16th, the harvest began immediately and lasted through the beginning of October. A large harvest of exceptionally healthy grapes was brought in at record levels of ripeness. According to Emile Peynaud, the fruit was the ripest it had been since 1947. The wines were ripe, soft and velvety, with a rich, deep fruit character that varied from ripe blackcurrant to deep plum and fig depending on the grape variety. Acidity levels were fairly low, and the wines were tannic, but the tannins were silky and not abrasively astringent. A really lovely result from a nearly perfect year. "Always somewhat atypical, the 1982 Latour has been the most opulent, flamboyant, and precocious of the northern Médocs, especially the St.-Juliens, Pauillacs, and St.-Estèphes. It hasn't changed much over the last 10-15 years, revealing sweet tannins as well as extraordinarily decadent, even extravagant levels of fruit, glycerin, and body. It is an amazing wine, and on several occasions, I have actually picked it as a right bank Pomerol because of the lushness and succulence of the cedary, blackberry, black currant fruit. This vintage has always tasted great, even in its youth, and revealed a precociousness that one does not associate with this Chéteau. However, the 1982 is still evolving at a glacial pace. The concentration remains remarkable, and the wine is a full-bodied, exuberant, rich, classic Pauillac in its aromatic and flavor profiles. It's just juiced up (similar to an athlete on steroids) and is all the better for it. Drink it now, in 20 years, and in 50 years! Don't miss it if you are a wine lover." 100 points, Robert Parker June 2009 "The 1982 Latour for me was the wine of the night. It is aging almost imperceptibly, and still shows an abundance of red and black berry fruit character on the nose, along with some evidence of the spice from the oak aging and a profound minerally firmness, but very few developed or mature aromas at this point. On the palate the wine was youthful, with firm tannins that have only just begun to soften to reveal a lush and dense texture. Great length - truly profound wine." Charles Curtis M. W., June 2009 1 impériale per lot