Château Haut-Brion Premier Grand Cru Classé (1982)
SommeliAI Insights
Dense, ripe black fruit and mineral notes with silky texture and a long, smoky finish.
About this wine
The 1982 Château Haut Brion shows concentrated aromas of blackcurrant, plum, leather, smoked herbs and mineral earth. On the palate it is full bodied with ripe dark fruit that unfolds into layers of spice, cedar and a subtle graphite note. Tannins are fine grained and silky, giving the wine a smooth, long finish while acidity keeps the profile balanced. The estate blend for this vintage is dominated by Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and the wine was matured in oak for roughly 18 months. This bottle is often described as showing the gravelly character of Pessac Leognan and a tobacco and saddle leather complexity that developed with age.
About the grape
Château Haut-Brion blends Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that have been planted on deep gravel over clay and limestone soils in Pessac Léognan for centuries, with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon forming the core of plantings and Cabernet Franc adding aromatic lift. Merlot at the estate is valued for its clay friendly ripening and was historically used in substantial proportion here, while Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on the better drained gravel mounds to bring structure, tannin and longevity. Cabernet Franc has a long presence in the property and is cultivated on limestone influenced parcels for finesse and perfumed lift, with the estate maintaining massal selection and a mother vineyard to protect its unique clonal material. Vine densities of roughly 8,000 to 10,000 vines per hectare, double Guyot pruning and careful canopy work along with hand harvesting have been employed to manage yields and ripeness for the Grand Vin.
Quick facts
- 🌟 The 1982 Haut‑Brion became one of the signature bottles of the legendary 1982 Bordeaux year, often singled out for being more immediately charming than many other First Growths.
- 🧾 Magnums and larger formats of the 1982 Haut‑Brion are especially prized at auction, with imperial bottles repeatedly attracting top collectors and glowing prime‑age reviews decades later.
- 🌊 Tasters often note an unusual maritime/iodine whisper in the 1982’s aroma—a smoky, saline signature that screams Pessac‑Léognan rather than classic Médoc oakiness.
- 🍇 Compared with many Left Bank First Growths from 1982, Haut‑Brion’s blend gives the vintage a silkier, more Merlot‑inflected plushness that made it unusually approachable in its youth.
- 🛢️ Haut‑Brion’s own on‑site cooperage and careful barrel toasting played a behind‑the‑scenes role in the 1982’s texture and longevity, a craftsmanship detail collectors love to brag about.
Palate profile
Producer
Château Haut-Brion, established in 1525 by Jean de Pontac in the Graves region of Bordeaux, is renowned as the oldest continuously operating winery in Bordeaux. In 1660, it became the first Bordeaux estate to sell its wine under its own name, gaining immense popularity in London. Notably, in 1663, English diarist Samuel Pepys praised its unique taste, marking one of the earliest recorded wine reviews. The estate has been owned by notable figures, including Talleyrand and, since 1935, the American financier Clarence Dillon. Château Haut-Brion was also a pioneer in winemaking innovations, being the first of the great growths to use stainless steel fermentation vats in 1961.
