Château Haut-Brion Pessac Léognan 1855 1er Cru 1982

Five years since my last tasting of Haut-Brion 1982, and a pleasure to sink back into these stunning waves of sweet brambled raspberry and blackberry fruits. Tobacco, graphite, gunpowder tea, sandalwood, vanillin, grilled herbs and iodine come in waves, and this was a clear favourite around the table, balancing exuberance with finesse. Going back to the wine after an hour in the glass, it has held up excellently, but the saline tang was much more dominant. The Dillon family had been owners for five decades at this point, with Duchesse de Mouchy as president, and Jean Delmas winemaker as he had been since 1961 (2nd generation of the family to be in the role and one that he would hand over to his own son in 2004). This was also the last vintage before they bought neighbouring La Mission Haut-Brion.