squidsdc Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 New question--in celebration of the 25th anniversary of my work, we were thinking of getting a 25 year old bottle of wine to give as a gift to my boss. Good idea or bad? I know nothing about wine. Was '82 a good year for red, anywhere? And can this be done at not an exhorbitant cost? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Was '82 a good year for red, anywhere? And can this be done at not an exhorbitant cost? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! Oh, I think you may be able to find a bottle or two that's still drinkable from that vintage. As for the cost? Good Luck! The problem is that to actually go out and buy an 82 at this point, you're probably going to be looking for Bordeaux (it's a fine vintage elsewhere too, but availability is scarce). I don't see many ways of escaping this in the two-digit range. Elliot Staren used to have some vintage Armagnacs at Wide World of Wines - maybe that is your best option although I suspect that wouldn't be cheap either. Cheers, Rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitman Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 New question--in celebration of the 25th anniversary of my work, we were thinking of getting a 25 year old bottle of wine to give as a gift to my boss.Good idea or bad? I know nothing about wine. Was '82 a good year for red, anywhere? And can this be done at not an exhorbitant cost? Thanks in advance for any suggestions! A couple of houses seem to have declared '82 a vintage year for port. Here are some '82s if you don't mind buying by mail. I note that the Petrus is only 7 large -- quite the bargain these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsdc Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 A couple of houses seem to have declared '82 a vintage year for port. Here are some '82s if you don't mind buying by mail. I note that the Petrus is only 7 large -- quite the bargain these days. Thanks for the link, and thanks Don for the referral to Elliot. I just spoke with him and he was very helpful. His words...'82 was a stunning vintage for Bordeaux, in fact, one of the best vintages ever. While what he has in stock is closer to the 4 digit category, he recommended some other wines that I see are listed on that page, and referred me to see what McArthur has in stock. Unfortunately, my boss is pretty much only a wine drinker, so the Armagnacs and Ports probably won't do. You guys are the best--I knew you'd steer me in the right direction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Oh, I think you may be able to find a bottle or two that's still drinkable from that vintage. As for the cost? Good Luck! The problem is that to actually go out and buy an 82 at this point, you're probably going to be looking for Bordeaux (it's a fine vintage elsewhere too, but availability is scarce). I don't see many ways of escaping this in the two-digit range. Elliot Staren used to have some vintage Armagnacs at Wide World of Wines - maybe that is your best option although I suspect that wouldn't be cheap either. Cheers, Rocks. Elliot still has a bunch of Armagnacs, I do not recall seeing an '82, but if anyone would have it, he would. He also had several bottles of '82 Bordeaux on Saturday, and not all of them were 1st growths (I believe that he had the '82 Talbot in the tasting room). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 His words...'82 was a stunning vintage for Bordeaux, in fact, one of the best vintages ever. While what he has in stock is closer to the 4 digit category, he recommended some other wines that I see are listed on that page, and referred me to see what McArthur has in stock. BTW the 82 First Growths just cracked the 4-digit mark at auction, and I mean just in the past month or two, but they plowed through it quickly, and Lafite, Mouton, and Cheval are going for something closer to $1,500 now. Petrus and Lafleur have always been in the stratosphere, but now everything else is, too. I never thought these wines would break the $1,000 barrier this soon. Is it a bubble? Common wisdom is that the supply is fixed - dwindling, actually - and now China and other growing economies are becoming interested in the panache of Lafite-Rothschild et al, and putting pressure on prices. The thing is, though - this stuff is not rare: They basically made 25,000 cases (300,000 bottles) of some of these $1,000+ wines, and it's readily available in the auction market. So is it a bubble? Yeah, I think a little one, at least in the immediate term, but this is pure personal speculation based on supply-and-demand economics, and has nothing at all to do with a knowledge of wine. In the long term, 1982 Bordeaux will stay priced through the roof - absent a global meltdown, I don't see any way it can't. Here is a page of samples from Acker-Merrall's May 9th auction (go to ackerauctions.com, click on "Acker Auctions," then "Auction Archives," then select "Red Bordeaux" as the wine type and enter "1982" as the vintage. 12 Chateau Figeac - Vintage 1982 St. Emilion 1bn, 2ts 3 bottles $717.00 37 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion - Vintage 1982 Graves 1 different importer 5 bottles $4,541.00 41 Chateau Lafite Rothschild - Vintage 1982 Pauillac 3 bottles $5,019.00 [<--- This is crazy!] 53 Chateau Lafleur - Vintage 1982 Pomerol ts, gsl, sdc 1 bottle $2,390.00 55 Chateau L'Arrosee - Vintage 1982 St. Emilion 3 magnums $1,912.00 58 Chateau Latour - Vintage 1982 Pauillac 3 bottles $4,780.00 [<--- So is this] Cheers, Rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsadler Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Bell's had a bottle of 1982 Bordeaux open for their Saturday tasting the other week (!), donated by a customer. I hit this tasting if I'm at my gym on Saturday, which is nearby. Every now and then someone donates a very pricey bottle to taste. Luckily I happened to be there to taste this wine. It was fascinating-- very funky and complex. These are the notes that Fred Luskin sent out about it. Reserve de la Comtesse 82 (Pichon Longueville Comtesse Lalande) 5/05/07 This, the 2 nd tier bottling of Pichon Longueville Lalande, 25 years out of the starting gate, is amazing. The bouquet with its light aged quality is delightful. The wine is smooth and mellow. The flavors of the fruit (Merlot 40, Cabernet 27, CabFranc 13, and Petite Verdot 11) while melded are present and alive. There is still some discernable wood lending structure and above all the wonderful smoky notes found in good Pauillac. There is virtually none of this to be had in any market, the closest approximation being $210 for a bottle of '86 in London. A special Thank you to the donors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Slater Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Bell's had a bottle of 1982 Bordeaux open for their Saturday tasting the other week (!), donated by a customer. I hit this tasting if I'm at my gym on Saturday, which is nearby. Every now and then someone donates a very pricey bottle to taste. Luckily I happened to be there to taste this wine. It was fascinating-- very funky and complex. These are the notes that Fred Luskin sent out about it. Reserve de la Comtesse 82 (Pichon Longueville Comtesse Lalande) 5/05/07 This, the 2 nd tier bottling of Pichon Longueville Lalande, 25 years out of the starting gate, is amazing. The bouquet with its light aged quality is delightful. The wine is smooth and mellow. The flavors of the fruit (Merlot 40, Cabernet 27, CabFranc 13, and Petite Verdot 11) while melded are present and alive. There is still some discernable wood lending structure and above all the wonderful smoky notes found in good Pauillac. There is virtually none of this to be had in any market, the closest approximation being $210 for a bottle of '86 in London. A special Thank you to the donors. 1982 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de LaLande scored 100 points with Robert Parker and is trading at or close the price of the First Growths, in the vicinity of $14,000 a case. Not bad for a wine that was offered en primeur for $240 a case in 1984. Reserve de la Comtesse is always a great value wine in Bordeaux. The 2003 is stunnning and quite drinkable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 1982 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de LaLande scored 100 points with Robert Parker and is trading at or close the price of the First Growths, in the vicinity of $14,000 a case. Not that it actually matters, but it isn't quite that high - at the May 19th Acker-Merrall auction it traded for $7,170 a case which includes the 19% buyer's commission. 36 Chateau Pichon Lalande - Vintage 1982 Pauillac 2ts, 6hbsl, 6lwasl, 6hwasl, 3sdc, owc 12 bottles $7,170.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 This whole thread pains me muchly. In 1983, Sid Drazin at Comet Liquors on Columbia Road (the sign is now at Carole Greenwood's Comet Pizza) was selling a lovely box of two 1982 Bordeaux wines for $17. I was looking for something to give my brother for Christmas. Sid told me that it wasn't to be drunk until 2000. My brother was in the Air Force at the time and wasn't in a position to store wine properly for almost 20 years, so I passed. And, no, I haven't told him about this--even after he moved to this area in 1993. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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