Tasted at the Las-Cases off-line at The Square. Many years have passed since I last tasted the ’83 Las-Cases. It is reticent at first, like an old tongue-tied friend entering the room, then it blossoms with aeration offering scents of leather, chestnut, brambly black fruit and freshly rolled tobacco. The palate is medium-bodied with melted red-berry fruits, firm tannins and superb balance. Hints of bell pepper and sandalwood furnish the long, harmonious finish. This is a wonderful wine for the vintage that is drinking perfectly now.

Firm, austere, classic style of St. Julien here. The nose is packed with cedar, tobacco, cigar box, ash, wet, forest floor and bright red berries. Medium/full bodied, with a rusticity to the tannins that was common in that era. Still, this is fun to taste, when you're in the mood for the equivalent of an old, black and white, movie style of Bordeaux. Tasted April 2017

Like so many 1983s, this wine entered full maturity 6-7 years ago and now seems to be suggesting that it needs to be drunk up quickly, as the tannins and acidity continue to take hold, and as the fruit fades. The wine has a dark plum/garnet color with some amber at the edge. The wine is medium-bodied with a bit of sharpness in the finish. However, the aromas and attack of the wine are still intact, but consumption definitely seems warranted. Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted, 3/02.

Very deep crimson. Rich and concentrated. Tobacco flavours. Vigorous. Real energy here. (JR)