A mindblowing wine and so Lafite – almost timeless in the sense that they have stayed true to this style today: ethereal, electric and nuanced almost to the point of understatement. On the nose there's aromas of smoked meats, charred cherries, spicy plums, tobacco, floral fragrance, mint and crushed stones. Mouthwatering acidity leads the charge on the palate, so alive and thrilling but still with so much detail. It's graceful, delicate, and not too concentrated or opulent, with perfect weight, balance and poise. A wondrous wine that delivers such pure and joyful drinking pleasure. A flawless delivery and one of the best of the tasting. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2044
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Vancouver, Canada, 28 May 2023)
Part of Bordeaux 1982 revisited: 45 wines tasted

The 1982 Lafite Rothschild is at the peak of its powers today, and the two bottles I drank this year were both exceptional. Wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet red berries and blackcurrants mingled with notions of cedar chest, cigar box, camphor and dried flowers, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, with an effortlessly elegant, harmonious profile and a long, fragrant finish. While this is far from being the most powerful Médoc of the vintage, it is among the most pleasurable. 98 points WK
The 1982 Lafite Rothschild, which can be somewhat irregular in performance, came from magnum, and it was the greatest example of a 1982 Lafite that I have tasted to date. I had some perfect examples of this wine early in its life, but it had never again lived up to that perfection until this luncheon at Daniel. RP 100pts Hedonist’s Gazette – Dec 2013
This is a denser version of the 1990 that stylistically reminds me of what the young 1959 probably tasted like. Still backward with a deep ruby/plum color revealing only a touch of lightening at the edge, the wine offers up an extraordinary nose of caramelized herbs, smoke, cedar, pen ink, black currants, and earth. The gorgeous aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, plump, rich, fleshy wine with low acidity. With 6-8 hours decanting in a closed decanter, it will offer beautiful drinking, but it needs another 5-8 years to reach full maturity. It is capable of lasting 50-60 years. This classic Lafite is not as fat and concentrated as the 1982 Latour, nor as complex or concentrated as the 1982 Mouton Rothschild, but it is a winner all the same.

97+ points Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #183, Jun 2009)

The 1982 Lafite-Rothschild can be a variable performer. There was a period when it was dwarfed by Latour. However, two recent bottles demonstrate a wine that perhaps has just taken 30+ years to reach its zenith. The bouquet is very intense with blackberry, cedar, graphite and hints of morels, gathering momentum in the glass, perhaps with just a touch more VA than its peers. The palate is medium-bodied and very fresh, lively and tensile with a fine thread of acidity. There is more cohesion and finesse than bottles encountered a decade ago, and a delicate but firm structure that frames the pure blackberry and cedar notes on the sustained finish. Wonderful. Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong and then blind at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the property.

Elegant, refined, medium-bodied, soft, fresh and aromatic, this is probably at, or close to full maturity. The red fruits display a beautiful, earthy, cedar, tobacco, herbal, leafy, spicy profile. Texturally, this is a wine of finesse and silky, with length and depth of flavor. Decanted about 1 hour, this was a great bottle of the 82, which can often vary in quality. Tasted July 2020

Not the most concentrated nor long-living 1982 though lovely to drink now. Perfumed, mineral, salty, long and juicy with a slightly drying finish. But overall transparent and nervy with some fine Lafite quality. Drink now - 2030
JR - May 2018