TN: 1982 Chateau Beychevelle

At 37 years old, this bottle seemed still young to me, with plenty of life remaining. Nose of graphite, pencil shavings, and dark berries. It still has remarkable tannins and a very long finish.

Good bottles of 1982 Beychevelle remind me of the 1982 PLL. There’s a mix of really ripe fruit and highly aromatic green-coffee / herbal scents that both have in common. The PLL is the better wine, but for the price, the Beychevelle might be the smart buy, IMO.

I had a few '73 Beychevelle (in 375s!!) until this December - one was dead, but the other two showed very, very nicely. Frankly, I was shocked, given 1) the disastrous vintage and 2) 375 format.

If you like the ‘82 Beychevelle, try the ‘82 Branaire Ducru. Comparable quality for ‘82 St. Julien at roughly a 40% discount. My favorite Left Bank wine of the vintage (so far) under $150. (Though the even cheaper Meyney is very good)

Over in the Right Bank, the ‘82 La Dominique is an even better value at that quality level at just over $100.

So many wines from the vintage are still incredibly good.

I just experimented with an '82 La Dominique a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. For my palate, it was declining, well into tertiary territory, unlike this '82 Beychevelle. But, I loved the saddle leather and tobacco nose that carried the entire evening. Here’s my blog on that one:

I will check out the Branaire Ducru, if I come across it for a decent price.

Cheers!

How cool is it to open wine that old, and from that crappy of a vintage, and get a welcome surprise?! You’re not the first person I’ve read that experienced surprising results from a 375. Thanks for sharing, cool pic, too.

I just started with a case of ‘66 Beychevelle recently, 1st bottle was alive and kicking, vibrant acidity and good balance, no sign of fading over 3 hours meal, acidity should keep it for years.

I opened 1973 over an year ago and it was amazing!

Wow, look at your cork, Mikko. Did you use a Durand on that? Thanks for sharing. I might keep my eyes peeled for a ‘73 now. Wonder if they can be found in magnums.

The Beychevelle 2010 is worth seeking out.

Hi Mark – would you cellar it for another 10 years yet, or do you think it should be opened now?

Ideally cellar for ten years. It is a wine built for aging.

Millesima has 33% off on 3 cases or more and one of the wines that is included in this sale is the 2010 Beychevelle, which brings down the case pricing to $1037.08/per or $86.43/btl from their regular case price of $1547.88/per … seems like a pretty good price if you either like quantity or are willing to partake in a group purchase.

Joseph—This is of course my palate and different actual bottles, but I would argue my experience of the ‘82 La Dominique was one of pretty good remaining fruit. There is clearly brett present, though I think it is a neutral to positive for me in this case, adding elements of smoke, leather, and non-fecal barnyard. While I’ve had older fading Bordeaux’s where it seems like the brett is all that is left (weaker Cordier vintages for example), I think this one is going strong and would be surprised if it would have impressed me more several years ago.

Anyway, that was just a long way of asking if you think it was really in decline or just exhibiting tertiary notes from the brett?

Btw, I’ve found the Branaire shows up a lot on Wine searcher and at auction.

Hi Mark – great question – I am sure it was just the brett I experienced mostly in my bottle of the '82, which was a positive for me. I didn’t get hints of raspberry and cherry until later in the evening, and they were still in the background. It also didn’t have a super long finish. The Beychevelle, on the other hand, was very grippy with a finish that went on forever. While not fruit forward, the dark berries were also not subtle. I enjoyed both bottles immensely, but for different reasons.

I will certainly try another of the la Dominique to see if I have a different experience. Thank you for your comments and question! Very insightful.

I sure did! Opening old bottles without it is pretty much playing against the odds.

That’s a good wine!

Good bottles of 1970 are also drinking well with strong fruit and bottle sweetness although I’ve had maderized ones too.

I can’t recall having tried older than the ‘66 myself - maybe - but I’ve heard others have had great bottles from the ‘40s.

Will look for a bottle of ‘70 to try. I drank a few vintages of Beychevelle but never had a strong impression until that bottle of ‘66. Probably like Magdelaine, takes a long time to come around.