The 1982 La Tâche Grand Cru is a vintage that I have encountered twice before and never come away impressed – until now. Of course, 1982 was a humungous crop in Burgundy, with berries swollen by August rains that caused dilution, at least for the reds (not the whites). This has a sublime, delicate, lacy bouquet of pure red cherry and lavender aromas, displaying no signs of rot or dilution. The palate is framed by elegant tannins, a little fleshier than expected and not amazingly complex, but an old iron fist in a velvet glove on the harmonious, silky-smooth finish. It is just a lovely wine and well-kept bottles should offer another decade of pleasure.

Orange on the rim to a browning but still moderately purple core. Classic La Tâche spiciness mixes with fully mature burg aromas plus a touch of sous bois and leads to rich but tiring flavors and a medium length finish that displays quite a bit of tannin that is unlikely to ever fully resolve itself. While this is certainly a lovely wine, it is also one that is best drunk relatively soon.

PRODUCTION: 2,685 cases. This was a gorgeously delicious wine to drink during the first 7-8 years of its life, when I consistently rated it 88-91. It has now become diffuse and muddled with fading fruit. The color is a medium garnet with noticeable browning at the edge. Some of the famed DRC perfume of smoky oak and overripe fruit can still be found, but in the mouth the wine tastes flabby and unstructured. It is beginning to crack up, and should be drunk immediately.