Beschreibung:

Château Haut-Brion--Vintage 1982
1 dozen bottles per lot
Pessac-Léognan To the south of the city of Bordeaux, within the region once known as Graves, is Pessac-Léognan. Among the pine trees and gravel are the greatest wine producers to the south of the Médoc. For a long time, Graves was best known for its white wines (and, indeed, whites from the top producers are still collectible and fetch high prices) but in the past 2 decades the production of red wine has surpassed that of white, and with good reason. Producers like the old rivals Châteaux Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut Brion, both produce a unique and intriguing red wine made for long term ageing. Château Haut Brion It has been seven decades since the American banker Clarence Dillon purchased Château Haut Brion and twenty two since his granddaughter Joan Dillon and her husband the Duc de Mouchy took the dramatic step of arranging the purchase of Haut Brion's illustrious neighbor, Château La Mission Haut Brion, from the Woltner family. Jean Delmas, the recently retired Technical Director, had intimate knowledge of all of the vintages being offered below. He started out working beside his father and was well positioned to take over the reigns in his first year as regisseur (General Manager) in 1961. Haut Brion, meaning "high mound of grave," enjoys the oldest reputation in print of any wine in Bordeaux. Its most prominent early owner was Jean de Pontac (1488-1589), who built the Château, became the richest man in Bordeaux, and lived an extradordinary 101 years. The name of the Pontac family was often attached to the wine, and in 1666 Jean's great-great grandson, Francoise-Auguste, opened a tavern in London called "The Sign of Pontac's Head," where "Pontac" was sold for three times the price of any other wine. The fashionable tavern lasted for over a century. The wine of Haut Brion was first sold at Christie's under the name of "Pontac" on April 6, 1778, consigned from the cellars of the Marquis de Noailles. Nine years later the American Ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson travelled to Bordeaux and as history has recorded was unsuccessful in his attempt to purchase a barrique of the 1784 vintage. He had to settle for two cases of fifty bottles each and was known to enjoy and promote the wines of Haut Brion to his friends and colleagues back in a nascent America. Although fine wines were made in the 1920s the estate's renaissance is widely recognized to begin with the 1945 vintage, crafted by the senior Dillon-Delmas team. Clarence Dillon's granddaughter Joan began representing the property on behalf of the family when she moved to France in 1955. She became President of Domaine Clarence Dillon in 1974. After the death of her first husband, Prince Charles of Luxemburg, Princesse Joan married Philippe de Noailles, Duc de Muchy, and in 1978 asked him to become an active Director of the company. In recent times Prince Robert de Luxemburg has managed the property on behalf of the family. Haut Brion, the wine, has an illustrious reputation for its richness and suaveté and is generally comprised of 55 Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 Merlot and 20 Cabernet Franc. Haut Brion is not just geographically distant from its First Growth peers, for it is widely recognized as singular in style and grace. Château Haut-Brion--Vintage 1982 Pessac (Graves), 1er cru classé Levels: six bottom neck and six very top shoulder In original wooden case "This was one of the best showings yet for this wine, which, to my palate and mind, has never lived up to its early potential. In this tasting, the 1982 revealed a healthy dark ruby color with lightening at the edge. Intense, persistent aromas of saddle leather, roasted herbs, scorched earth, and sweet black currant fruit were followed by complex flavors of minerals, spice box, and cedar. Although this medium-bodied, fleshy, ripe, concentrated wine is not a blockbuster, as it unfolds, it reveals layers of flavor in addition to this vineyard's tell-tale complexity. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020." Rober