Fully mature, this is elegant, decadence at its best. Silky, sexy, lush and svelt, you find perfectly ripe plums, dark cherries, truffle, flowers, tobacco, and wet earth. The fruit feels like crushed velvet as it flows from the glass to where it was created to go. Popped and poured, this is gorgeous today. As a tip, this is the best deal in the market today for a mature Cheval Blanc of such high quality.

A giant of a wine. The complex aromas and thickly textured flavors range from plum and raisin to coffee, minerals and mint. Not so elegant as a typical Cheval; more in the mold of the powerful '47 and legendary '21. Drink or hold.--Cheval-Blanc vertical. — TM

The 1983 Cheval is a red that I have always appreciated. In fact, I may have scored it higher in the 1980s when I first tasted the two vintages, but that was a long time ago! The bottle at Island Tang showed beautiful aromas of licorice, spice, flowers and dried fruits such as prunes. It was still full-bodied with soft and fine tannins and ripe fruit.

The 1983 Cheval Blanc, which incidentally was served from magnum, has consistently been one of the standout wines of the vintage. Here is one of the finest examples that I have encountered. Sure, its age can no longer be disguised thanks to its tawny-rimmed hue, but the aromatics burst full of red fruit, cigar box, beef stock and tobacco scents that immediately capture your senses. The palate is medium-bodied and very well balanced, underpinned by a keen line of acidity. There is so much freshness here after 30 years and yet it does not begrudge or disguise its age. Even from magnum, you feel that it is approaching the end of its drinking plateau, however there is still so much pleasure to be gained. Maintaining its savory core of fruit and meatiness, this remains a wonderful Cheval Blanc. Tasted March 2015.

A glorious wine, and one of the candiates for the wine of the vintage, Cheval Blanc's 1983 shows far more evolved colour than it's older sibling, the 1982. With explosive aromatic notes of sweet jammy plum, blackcurrant, smoke, coffee and Asian spices, opulent, medium to full bodied and lush, this is a gorgeous, very sexy, seductive style of Cheval Blanc that has been consistently delicious from the time it was bottled. It shows no sign of decline despite some increasing amber in the colour. The tannins are still sweet, the fruit very present, and the wine totally intact. Anticipated maturity: now-2010.