1982 Pichon Lalande
By Chateau Pichon Lalande
1982 Pichon Lalande from Château Pichon Lalande, Pauillac, Bordeaux
In a vintage that has become synonymous with unparalleled quality in Bordeaux, the 1982 Pichon Lalande from Château Pichon Lalande represents a particularly extraordinary chapter. The ensemble of ideal climatic conditions has yielded a wine that not only provides immediate luscious appeal but also promises grandeur through an impressive capacity for aging.
Harmonious Complexity: A Testament to Terroir
The 1982 vintage saw an early, warm spring and sustained summer, allowing the cabernet sauvignon-led blend to achieve perfect ripeness, mirrored in its rhapsodic aromatics and profound structure. Indeed, this bottle is a masterclass in the marriage of power and elegance—a hallmark of the esteemed Pauillac appellation.
The 1982 Pichon Lalande reveals a bouquet that weaves together cassis and blackberries with violets and hints of cigar box—a true reflection of its storied terroir. On the palate, the integration of fruit and tannin is seamless, striking a harmonious balance rarely achieved with such poise.
An Investment Melding Elegance with Endurance
As age introduces further nuance, investors and connoisseurs alike will find their patience richly rewarded. The 1982 vintage from Château Pichon Lalande shows off its lineage with a texture that remains silken even as it garners complexity—providing unwavering evidence of its sustained investment appeal.
Captivating in its youth for its vibrant fruit and vitality, the wine from this exceptional Bordeaux year now offers tertiary nuances—leather, truffle, and earthy underbrush—that intrigue and invite contemplation with each sip. This evolution showcases why Pauillac wines from laudable vintages continue to be sought after by those looking to diversify their portfolios with blue-chip wine investments.
In closing, the 1982 Pichon Lalande stands as one of the most coveted collectibles from Château Pichon Lalande. Its endurance through four decades asserts it as a canny acquisition for enthusiasts aiming to elevate their collection with a timeless monument of viticultural artistry.
Market price (GBP)
£5,670.00
12x75cl
Highest score
100
POP score
283.5
Scores and tasting notes
One of the monumental wines of the last century is the 1982 Pichon Lalande. Since bottling, it has flirted with perfection, and was a sprinter out of the gate, which gave rise to questions about how quickly it would begin its decline. However, at age 27, it retains all its glossy, rich, flamboyant cassis fruit, chocolaty, berry jam-like notes, and plenty of earthy, foresty flavors. This is a full-bodied, extravagantly rich Pichon Lalande seemingly devoid of acidity and tannin, but the wine is incredibly well-balanced and pure. It is an amazing effort! Release price: ($110.00/case)
Robert Parker Jr - Wine Advocate #183 June 2009
Tasted at Pebbles/Zachy's 1982 dinner in Hong Kong. The Pichon-Lalande '82 almost embarrasses the Pichon Baron '82. It has a seamless nose of blackberry, cassis, graphite and cedar, again, with an almost sorbet-like freshness and vitality that you want to keep returning to repeatedly. The palate is beautifully defined with filigree tannins and so much freshness and poise, a citric theme from start to finish. There are notes of blackberry, cedar, graphite and a spray tan of glycerine. This is a Pauillac that challenges the First Growths and I would argue with the exception of Latour, is equal to them. Tasted November 2012.
Neal Martin - Wine Journal Jan 2013
Whilst I enjoyed several bona fide perfect examples of the 1982 Château Pichon Lalande in the late nineties, my most recent encounters imply that these years were its peak. Nevertheless, it remains a brilliant, benchmark wine that continues to give a great deal of pleasure. This bottle, of perfect provenance, was captivating on the nose - still youthful and jam-packed with very pure and intense black and red fruit, mixed with cedar and graphite notes that ebb away as the Merlot component takes over and delivers strawberry and undergrowth scents. The palate retains its exquisite balance thanks to its fine tannin and layers of black, graphite-infused fruit that ease you into its sumptuous finish. It is a long-term wine, so do not be surprised if it continues along its plateau for another 20 years. Why is it not 100 points in my book? Well, compared to the 1982 Latour, it does not possess that same level of precision or length. Yet the bottom line is that both wines represent fabulous, era-defining contributions to this legendary vintage, and both continue to offer profound expression of Pauillac at its peak. Tasted February 2016.
Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate, 28 July 2016