March 24, 2024 - The first bottle of this was shot, so decided to cut my losses and open a second. Thankfully, this bottle was healthy. Interestingly, as with a lot of older wines, this does need half an hour in the decanter to blow off its rougher edges. It is a revelation, how, in a great vintage, even the most lowly estates can produce great wines. It is tertiary, with a sensuous nose that is its best feature. The St. Estephes were the weaker of the left bank wines in 1982, and this is no exception, and shows a leanness on the palate and finish. A post script a couple of hours later. This improved considerably with time in the decanter, with the wine developing a roundness on the mouth, and losing its anguarity. 93+
March 24, 2024 - First of 3 bottles purchased recently. Unfortunately it was corked.
November 10, 2023 - Très belle surprise que ce haut Marbuzet 1982. Les tannins sont fondus, mais le vin reste bien équilibré, avec une texture soyeuse, un milieu de bouche encore présent et une finale pleine de charme. Merci les fameuses argiles bleus… Du bonheur embouteillé il y a plus de 40 ans et qui se diffuse maintenant !
January 8, 2022 - Strawberry, pepper, sweet tobacco, underbrush, smoke on the nose. The palate has this incredible mouthfeel that is typical of 82, very voluptous and silky, a real hedonistic pleasure!
Gorgeous wine. Drink now.
December 23, 2020 - Found this to be at the top of its game - perfectly balanced, tanins great for an older wine. Lost a bit of fruit, but overall excellent flavors. Served for a table of four with several other very good wines of the early 80s and it was every ones favorite.
October 24, 2020 - Nez de sous-bois, poivrons, framboise. Bouche équilibrée, pleine, fruitée, tanins parfaitement fondus. Un vin élégant et frais, procure encore énormément de plaisir. Impressionnant !
June 20, 2020 - This was my last bottle. Unlike the 1988 we last opened, I was able to finesse the 38 year old cork old in one piece. Dichotomy of aromas of surprisingly rushed out to meet us. Aromas of of both ripen cherry and a strong hint of musk and earth. It poured a slightly chalky but deep red with light bricking. We could both see and feel the age of this right bank bordeaux as it maintained its medium body. Flavors of cherry, oak and tobacco seemed to be pleasantly present, yet distant. On this beautiful summer evening, with Jazz playing in the background we paired with a New York Steak and Asparagus. It still has a relatively short, albeit very enjoyable finish. We all agree, was time to finish off the last of this vintage with fond enjoyment.
May 16, 2019 - My last one, and it was time. Roses on the nose; on the palate, faint plum and cherry, with dominant notes of wet autumn leaves and mushroom and no detectable tannins; the acidity is still well balanced with a medium finish. After standing open for about two hours it started to fall apart a bit. There was significant sediment, so decanting is in order. Although there was a lot of bottle variation among the four bottles I had, none of them were flawed, and even this, the most aged one, was still enjoyable.
March 7, 2019 - Underbrush, earth, autumn leaves, smoke. The palate has still quite some voluptuous body, with fine sweetness and smooth tannins. Long finish, well balanced. Excellent!
September 25, 2018 - From bottle bought at auction about 15 years ago, the storage prior to that is unknown. This wine looks ruby at the core with some orange around the rim, pretty much just what you'd expect. A reticent nose, on the palate this wine tastes of fading dark fruit, cherry, leather, earth and maybe a little green tea. Slow ox-ed for an hour with no decant, tannins fully resolved, and definitely past its prime, its still nice to be able to drink a wine from the '82 vintage. Bottle variation as there almost always is with wines this old, previous bottles have shown a little better than this.