I had fantastic Trotanoy, Figeac, and Tetre Roteboeuf from ‘98 vintage.
Good call on the Tetre Roteboeuf, the 99 is fantastic. Had it last month.
Just checked, I have a single bottle of the Figeac. Need to grab more.
I said I couldn’t pick 2000-2019 because they are too young.
Now I can’t pick 1980-1999 because it’s like choosing a favorite child.
But I predict that in ten years 1986 and 1989 will advance further in stature here —they are just starting to go. And 1990 Latour will be even better than it is now, which is a little scary.
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The problem with this line of argument is that there are also plenty of important properties than didn’t match what they achieved in 1982 in either 1989 or 1990. For a start, none of the Pauillac first growths matched their 1982s in either 1989 or 1990, and in some cases notably underperformed in those years. Nor did Ducru Beaucaillou (even allowing for the TCA issues), nor did Gruaud Larose, nor did Pichon Lalande, nor did Talbot, nor did Beychevelle… There are other more contentious calls: how one comes down on 1982 vs 1990 Léoville-Las Cases (I prefer the '90) will depend a lot on one’s palate, as will 1982 vs 1989 La Mission Haut Brion (I prefer the '82). But all this is to say that I am not sure the admittedly superb performances of Pichon Baron, Montrose and Léoville-Poyferré in 1989 and 1990 cancel out the sub-par—or sometimes just less stellar—performances of some estates that produced stunning 1982s.
I think there would also be a very strong case to be made for 1982 just based on the heights of the highs. If you put a left bank top-five of La Mission Haut Brion, Latour, Pichon Lalande, Mouton and La Tour Haut Brion up against a top-five from 1989 (which I suppose might be Haut Brion, La Mission Haut Brion, Lynch Bages, Pichon Baron and Montrose), or a top-five from 1990 (which I guess the consensus would say would include Margaux (even if I have not loved this wine lately), Montrose, Haut Brion, Pichon Baron and perhaps Lafite), I would not have a hard time choosing the 1982s (though I would love to put this to the test over lunch some day if anyone is tempted). And then, when one includes the right bank, there is the phenomenon that is 1982 Lafleur, for me one of the best wines made in Bordeaux since 1945, and which alone could almost carry the vintage…
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Now this is getting fun.
If you only look at the top wines , it is impossible to chosse. There is 82 , 89 and 98 .
The absolute best wines imho :
In 1982 : Latour , Mouton , Lafleur , Pichon Comtesse ( Trotanoy , Petrus , Gruaud , Cheval Blanc and Evangile are close )
In 1989 : Haut Brion , Mission , Montrose , Petrus , Pichon Baron , Palmer , Lynch Bages
Difficult to choose .
But then 1998 : Petrus , Haut Brion , Trotanoy , Cheval Blanc .
But if you look at overall , maybe it’s 82 . ( but I voted for 89 )
What William Kelley wrote. 1982.
To help our calibration, could you please rank spectacular, glorious, brilliant, and wonderful?
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If you rank based on wines when they were drinking at their peak, 1982 had so many successful wines it is hard not to vote for it. Yes, some of the wines are on a downward slope now, but that shouldn’t be held against the vintage.
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I was mostly teasing, but didn’t want to use the 
symbol. Thanks for not being offended. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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I voted for 1985. I don’t really believe it’s the best of these vintages but the combination of friendliness and quality has made it my favorite for many years. I can only remember one 1985, Cos D’Estournel, that didn’t seem ready to drink when I had it. Wines like Mouton and LLC drank really well much younger than they normally do.
Main omission is Cheval; it really is superb, and by Cheval standards, relatively cheap. My wine of the vintage.
I like Lafleur, but it is a bit of a beast, and still needs a minimum of ten years. Figeac is glorious, Pavie’s last great vintage before it went dark. La Conseillante is good, will appeal to the Loire lover in you with its touch of greenness.
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I see a lot of votes for 82 but I must say, wine for wine 1990s are drinking better today than 1982s did 8 years ago. More so, they seem to have longer lives ahead of them. While not in this poll, I would also assert that 1990 was drinking better 10 years ago than 2000 is today. As years go in, I am becoming slightly, only slightly less enamored with 2000than what was once speculated.
And 1990 is successful on both banks. I argue 1982 favored left vs both. 98 , except for graves and Pauillac, favored right bank and st. Em overvpomerol.
Your post timing was great, I had just pulled the trigger on two more bottles of the 1998 Magdelaine. Checking now, I think I have a bottle of Figeac, but no Conseillante. Need to remedy that. Cheval and Lafleur are out of my pauper’s league. Pavie was excellent but I would not call it great like some other 1998s that I have had. It was the last honest Pavie
If you need yet another ‘98 starting to drink, Latour a Pomerol was lithe and beautiful two weeks ago. Next to it, L’Evangile was young, but deep and heading toward divine with a few more years. Both were even better the next day.
The 1998 Grand Mayne is pretty great too, albeit more in the QPR vein of course.
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Yes, absolutely. And while you’re at it, Chateau Clinet wouldn’t be a clanger either.