This vintage is totally complete: colour, fruit, body, structure, balance, length. The nose remains closed, but of a surprising complexity. On the palate it has huge concentration combined with a great smoothness.

Critical Acclaim

RP100
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

One of the three or four very greatest wines of the vintage, the 1982 Latour delivers aromas of dark berry fruit, rich cigar wrapper, loamy soil, walnuts and smoke. Full-bodied, broad and layered, it's deep, seamless and immensely concentrated, its fleshy core framed by sweet, powdery tannins, concluding with a long, expansive finish. A monument to the greatness of Bordeaux, it is one wine that's worthy of all the praise that has been lavished on it over the years.

WS98
Wine Spectator
Big and chewy. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, long currant, berry and cherry character. Underrated. Still more to come in this wine.

100 points Decanter

"There are hints of brick orange around the outer edges, but this is still beautifully rich red at the core, and the warmth of the vintage’s sunshine is clear from the first moment. At 34 years of age, the aromatics have almost torrefied, with beautiful burnt caramel notes oozing into rich plum and baked strawberry fruits. Gentle tannins are still holding the fruit unobtrusively but firmly in line. As the wine opens in the glass, the tobacco and cold woodsmoke become more evident, and each time you go back to the glass it gets more and more interesting, extending the conversation and keeping it new. Bursting with life. (JA)" (10/2016)

100 points Vinous

"From the moment it is first opened the 1982 Château Latour is magical. Deep and still vibrant in color, but showing the translucence of age, the 1982 opens with intense, soaring aromatics that hint at what is to come. One taste is all it takes to confirm that the first impression is spot-on. This bottle, from an original wood case purchased on release, is a poignant reminder of how importance provenance is. The 1982 is simply stunning in its beauty. Vivid, multi-faceted and totally sensual, the Latour captures all the best qualities of this famous vintage. In 1982 yields were high, there was essentially none of the sorting that has become de rigueur, and cellar practices were far less ideal on paper than they are today. And yet, the 1982 is simply stunning. What else can I ask for in a wine? Absolutely nothing. Except for a hope to run into it again. Well-stored bottles will keep for another two decades, although my impression is that the 1982 is not going to improve much from here. Actually, it can’t improve. This is as good as wine gets. (AG)" (3/2016)

99 points Jeb Dunnuck

"The 1982 Chateau Latour is another powerful 1982 that’s drinking beautifully today and has a big, sweet nose of blackcurrants, saddle leather, cedar, and Asian spices that just comes jumping out of the glass. Deep, concentrated, and powerful, it takes 30 minutes in the glass to open up on the palate and still has ripe, polished tannins, thrilling length, and an impeccably balanced, layered personality. Again, it’s drinking fabulous well today, yet I suspect, given the wealth of fruit, it has another 2-3 decades of prime drinking ahead and will have a gradual decline. (JD)" (3/2019)

98 points James Suckling

"This shows wonderful decadence with meaty, dark chocolate and ripe plums on the nose that follows through on the palate. It's full bodied, with super silky tannins that caress your palate. The fruit in the wine changes to a spicy, stony undertone. It seems to evolve all the time in the glass. This has a long life to it. But why wait? So delicious." (11/2010)

96 points John Gilman

"The 1982 Latour is a brilliant example of the vintage, which continues to show potential for long-term evolution, but is starting to drink with plenty of generosity at age thirty-two. The bouquet shows a bit of the veneer of the ripe and generous spirit of 1982, coupled to classic Latour power and depth, as it offers up scents of sweet cassis, black cherries, the first signs of black truffles, cigar smoke, dark, gravelly soil tones, almost a touch of meatiness and a nice framing of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with ripe, suave tannins, excellent focus and grip and a very, very long, complex and gorgeous finish. This is not as classically Latour-like as a vintage such as 1970 or 1966, as the ripe style of 1982 is certainly prominently displayed here, but this is a great Latour by any measure." (1/2020)

Jancis Robinson

"Absolutely stonking. Beautifully layered, complex, fully mature nose. On the palate there was more sweetness than one usually associates with Ch Latour – a vintage factor presumably – and then a light tarry character towards the end of the palate that resonates with top-quality Pauillac and Latour's usual mineral signature. Just gorgeous and complete, at the height of its powers. 19.5/20 points (JR)" (10/2020)