Pure class on show with Cheval's heady, perfumed and expressive 1982. Fragrant and open nose of cherries, plums, cola, vanilla, mint and perfumed floral scents. Well defined, elegant and graceful on the palate, instantly mouthwatering with something special about the vibrancy and liveliness to the wine that captivates straight away. It's sensual yet tangy, plush yet with bite and grip. Persistent with real terroir markers and such effortless enjoyment. A tasting memory that will linger long in my memory.

The 1982 Chevel Blanc has a medium garnet-brick color and springs from the glass with scents of kirsch, dried cranberries, and pencil shavings, leading to hints of rose oil, rare steak, and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate is packed with mature red fruit and earthy layers, textured with satiny tannins and delivering seamless acidity, finishing on a long-lingering mocha note. Still very youthful, this was clearly a very good bottle, coming directly from the Chateau. The yields in 1982 for Cheval Blanc were a whopping 55 hl/ha, according to Pierre Lurton. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 1982 Cheval Blanc is a sumptuous, sensual wine, bursting with aromas of sweet raspberries, orange rind, dried flowers, cedar box, black truffles, vine smoke and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, it's supple and seamless, with a fleshy mid-palate, melting tannins and a long, expansive finish. As is often the case at this address, at age 40, it's the wine's Cabernet Franc component that really dominates its personality, meaning that it gratifies the intellect as completely as it does the senses. I've drunk the 1982 Cheval three times this year, and it has been remarkably consistently brilliant. - William Kelley

Starts out with cooling waves of cold ash and mint leaf, suspended for a few moments before unrolling to reveal warmer campfire, liqourice, raspberry puree, white pepper and a blast of white truffle. Fully open, welcome and ready for sharing its pleasures, but the tannins are still cradling the fruit, and this is just so moreish, hard to resist. The generous yields that were typical of 1982 meant Cheval saw a production of 54.3hl/h. Harvest September 20 to October 2, Jacques Hebrard director and owner, with Gilles Pauquet consultant winemaker and cellar master the legendary Gaston Vaissière, who worked at the estate from 1943 to 1986.

The 1982 Cheval Blanc is a vintage that I have not drunk for a number of years, so this was a pertinent reminder of its pulchritude. It has a flat-out gorgeous bouquet with ebullient red fruit, warm bricks (terracotta), hints of liquorice and strawberry jam. It's the kind of bouquet that you could bathe in. The palate has a ripe entry, voluptuous yet exquisitely balanced, the Cabernet components of this Cheval Blanc quite expressed and more pronounced than I recall. Yet it's toying with you as it segues into a more Burgundy-like final third. Mercurial, sensual and riveting. Tasted at the 1982 Dinner at Hatched. -- Neal Martin

The 1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc is fully mature at this point and there’s certainly no upside, although it should keep for a decade. Mature red and black fruits, cedary spices, leather, flowers and dried flowers all flow to a sweetly fruited, sexy, open knit and ready to go wine that has resolved tannin and a good finish.

It shows a slightly verbal edge to it now with green coffee bean and currant leaf and fruit aromas. It’s full and silky with lovely tannins, but dried dark fruits with balsamic undertones on the palate. The Cabernet Franc is coming out more in this bottle. Fascinating wine.