100 pts
Wine Advocate
A wine that can be perplexing to taste is the 1982 Léoville Las Cases. I purchased a good bit of this wine as a wine future in 1983, and rated it 100 points early on. But I have rarely had a bottle from my own cellar that performed that well. Two recent examples, this one and one in Asia, were clearly as profound and compelling as any Léoville Las Cases could ever be. At this dinner I had several glasses from different bottles, and the wine was always extraordinary with a dense purple color that is just beginning to lighten at the edge, and lots of lead pencil, sweet black and red currant, cherry, dusty loamy soil, new saddle leather and spice box characteristics. This full-bodied, opulent, rich 1982 is a killer example of Las Cases. Virtually all of the bottles from my cellar still display a tannic, firm grip and have not performed this well.
Robert Parker, Hedonist’s Gazette, July 2013
100 pts
Wine Advocate
Still stubbornly backward, yet beginning to budge from its pre-adolescent stage, this dense, murky ruby/purple-colored wine offers up notes of graphite, sweet caramel, black cherry jam, cassis, and minerals. The nose takes some coaxing, and the decanting of 2-4 hours prior to service is highly recommended. For such a low acid wine, it is huge, well-delineated, extremely concentrated, and surprisingly fresh. Perhaps because I lean more toward the hedonistic view of wine than the late Michel Delon, I have always preferred this to the 1986, but the truth is that any lover of classic Medoc should have both vintages in their cellar. This wine has monstrous levels of glycerin, extract, and density, but still seems very youthful, and tastes more like a 7 to 8-year-old Bordeaux than one that is past its twentieth birthday. A monumental effort. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035. Last tasted, 9/02.
Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book, 4th edition, reviewed January 1, 2003
100 pts
Wine Advocate
Tasted three times over a two month period, this youthful yet profoundly complex wine gets my nod as the finest Leoville-Las-Cases ever made. It reveals massive proportions yet extraordinary purity, elegance, and balance. This dense ruby/purple-colored 1982 still looks and tastes as if it were 5-8 years old. The nose offers up blazingly well-delineated, pure aromas of creme de cassis, cherry jam, minerals, and toasty new oak. This unctuously-textured, gorgeously rich, pure, super-concentrated, low acid effort concludes with a 45+ second finish. There is still tannin to shed in this unbelievably fresh, lively, full-bodied, vibrant wine. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035.
Robert Parker, June 26, 2000
100 pts
Wine Advocate
The 1982 Leoville-Las Cases remains one of the awesome examples of this great vintage. Rich, full-bodied, and backward, this thick-looking, opaque ruby/purple-colored wine is just beginning to display aromatic development. Jammy aromas of cassis intertwined with scents of vanilla, lead pencil, cedar, melted caramel, and toast are followed by a massively-endowed, full-bodied wine that will benefit from another 7-10 years of cellaring. This hugely impressive, low acid Las Cases is crammed with ripe fruit. It is the most hedonistic and concentrated Leoville-Las Cases I have ever tasted, just eclipsing the other-worldly 1986. It is approachable now, but my instincts suggest more patience. Drink it between 2000-2030 . It is a monumental wine! Tasted 23 times since bottling with consistent notes.
Robert Parker, December 23, 1995
100 pts
Wine Advocate
This tasting consisted of each of the varietal components of Las Cases, followed by the final blend for Leoville-Las Cases. 1982 remains Leoville-Las Cases’ greatest vintage in the post-World War II era. In this heralded vintage, every component wine revealed fabulous ripeness, concentration, and balance. The sensational Merlot is Petrus-like in its awesome intensity and viscous, exotic personality. Aromas of ripe coffee, jammy black-cherries, cassis, and smoke leap from the glass. Full-bodied, with exceptional richness and thickness, and low acid, this is a marvelous Merlot. Wow, wouldn't I like to have purchased four or five cases of this opulent wine! Already drinking beautifully, it tastes like a terrific Pomerol. The Cabernet Franc is all complexity, sweetness, and ripe fruit presented in an ostentatious style. It possesses better acidity than the Merlot. The huge, opaque purple-colored Cabernet Sauvignon is extraordinarily concentrated and tannic. Reminiscent of a barrel sample, this spicy, rich, still extremely young wine offers up a massive, Mouton-Rothschild-like, tobacco, lead pencil, and cassis-scented nose. The opaque black-colored Petit Verdot is monstrously-sized, with tough, hard tannin, and amazing fruit extraction, but it is oh, so astringent.
Robert Parker, October 27, 1995
100 pts
Wine Advocate
The 1982 Leoville-Las Cases remains one of the awesome examples of this great vintage. Rich, full-bodied, and backward, this thick-looking, opaque ruby/purple-colored wine is just beginning to display aromatic development. Jammy aromas of cassis intertwined with scents of vanilla, lead pencil, and toast are followed by a massively-endowed, full-bodied wine that will benefit from another 7-10 years of cellaring. This hugely impressive, low acid Las Cases is crammed with ripe fruit. It is the most hedonistic and concentrated Leoville-Las Cases I have ever tasted, just eclipsing the other-worldly 1986. Approachable now, it will last for 20-25 years.
Robert Parker, October 28, 1995
100 pts
Wine Advocate
The 1982 is unquestionably the greatest Leoville-Las-Cases I have tasted. As fine as the 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1990 are, this is the wine to own. The color has moved from a dark opaque ruby/purple, to a more garnet tone. The nose offers huge, still immature aromas of cassis, minerals, and that elusive lead pencil smell that is associated more with Pauillac than St.-Julien. There is a roasted richness to the wine, as well as tremendous viscosity and unctuosity to the chewy, super-concentrated flavors. Full-bodied, and not as classically austere as purists might wish, this multi-dimensional, profound wine is loaded with flavor, and has a phenomenal finish. It is the essence of Leoville-Las-Cases. Like many 1982s, the sweetness that resulted from such ripe grapes is displayed throughout the aromas and flavors. While drinkable now, it is still youthful and at least 4-5 years away from full maturity. It should last for 35 years.,
Robert Parker, October 30, 1994