CHÂTEAU LA MISSION HAUT BRION

The 1982 La Mission Haut-Brion is very similar to the one tasted in Hong Kong. Quite exotic on the nose, much more than Haut-Brion. There is that signature eucalyptus touch on the nose mixed with plenty of black fruit, though it lacks the pedigree of the First Growth. The palate is powerful with pliant tannins, quite candied with just a touch of menthol, hints of blue fruit emerging towards the finish. Fine salinity throughout, it is a 1982 that seems to try too hard to keep up with its peers, yet it is still very pleasurable after four decades. Tasted blind at the "Two" dinner at Domaine de Chevalier. Drinking range: 2022 - 2035 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2022)

The 1982 La Mission Haut-Brion is a vintage that I have tasted several times. This bottle has a gorgeous, eucalyptus-tinged bouquet of black fruit plus hints of clove and bay leaf; a light marine scent emerges with aeration. The palate has a ripe pastille-like quality, dark cherries commingling with blackberry and cranberry. A lovely saline undertow lends sapidity on the harmonious finish. This does not equal the 1982 Haut-Brion and may have reached its peak in the late 1990s, but it remains the best La Mission Haut-Brion since the 1978. Tasted at the La Mission Haut Brion dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2021)

Good medium red. Captivating aromas of raspberry, cherry liqueur, animal fur and gravel. Intensely flavoured and gripping, with a youthful medicinal cast and terrific mineral spine to its currant, game and dried herb flavours. This is still austere in the context of the year but boasts terrific verve. (July 2012 issue) Rating: *****18.5 Decanter Magazine (Jun 2012)