($329-$450) Good medium amber-edge red. Flamboyant aromas of smoked meat, leather, truffle and burnished oak. Intensely flavored and penetrating, with strong acids giving the flavors terrific cut and grip. I get an impression of strong cabernet tannins. Drink now through 2020. 94. My second bottle showed even more extravagantly expressive aromas of hot stones, tobacco, minerals and marzipan; a denser, silkier palate impression, with more obvious roasted Graves character; and an uncanny combination of sheer sweetness with structure and grip. I rated this wine even higher.

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Soft-edged garnet with a light orangey cast – barely. Remarkably perfumed – vanilla and spice and cedary dried herbs and something floral like lavender. So fragrant. Much denser and firmer on the palate than I expected, still a little grainy though fine grained. Rich but elegant, so finely balanced but surprising power and masculine energy giving fabulous length. (JH)

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I know Jean Delmas, whom I respect as one of the world's greatest wine producers, has always thought the 1982 Haut Brion was similar to the 1959, but I have yet to see that. It seems to me the 1989 is closer to the 1959, another perfect wine and one of the all-time great Haut Brions. While the 1982 is a beauty, it has never hit the highest notes this vintage or terroir can achieve. Complex aromatics of scorched earth, smoked herbs, and sweet red and black currants are followed by a full-bodied, silky-textured wine, but I have never felt this offering has possessed the concentration, texture, or multidimensional personality found in such vintages as 1989, 1990, and more recent years. Nevertheless, this is essentially splitting hairs as the 1982 remains a superb Haut Brion. Seemingly less evolved than the 1990, it is capable of another 20-30 years of longevity. Perhaps there is something in reserve that will reveal itself in the next decade.

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Dark ruby red. Tobacco, roasted coffee and light raisin. Full-bodied, with soft and silky tannins and a long finish. I have always loved this wine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.

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Blackberries, currents, and plums. A hint of smoke. Definite minerarility, especially graphite. Heavy tannins for a long smooth finish.