In anticipation of our horizontal tasting of 1982 Bordeaux tonight, Mark shares his thoughts on the vintage and that man Parker.
1982 is often spoken about in the same breath as other great 20th century vintages such as ‘29, ‘45, ‘47, ‘59 and ‘61 – another of those candidates for ‘vintage of the century’ that come around every decade or so. Regardless of whether ‘82 was any better or worse than years it is compared to, there is little doubt that it was a fantastic vintage – and there can be no doubt whatsoever that it fundamentally changed the fabric of the fine wine world.
To be a truly great vintage, mother nature must be on your side. At the start of 1982’s growing season the excellent weather conditions brought an early and even flowering, giving the growers hope that the crop would be ripe and large (it proved to be the biggest on record up to that point). The good weather persisted as Bordeaux headed from a hot and dry summer in to a cooler but still dry September. When harvesting began midway through the month the vignerons were very happy – the must weights were high, ripeness levels superb and the crop was a bumper one.
Almost everywhere in the region had benefitted from the excellent conditions, although many wineries failed to cope with both the large amount of fruit coming in from the vineyards (where to put it all?) and the temperatures (this was before widespread cooling technology). In Sauternes they suffered from torrential rain late in October, dashing hopes of a great year for them although a couple of chateaux still made some good sweet wines. The other blip came in Margaux (the commune rather than the Chateau), where conditions were not quite as optimum as they were throughout the rest of the Haut-Medoc (and, indeed the major right-bank appellations).
All in all, it was a thoroughly satisfactory vintage and many in the region were very excited. The great Emile Peynaud declared that he had never seen “such a level of richness and quantity together”. Joining the chorus was a French wine writer called Michel Bettane (now one of the world’s most famous commentators), who is credited as being the first voice in the media to ‘come out’ on the quality of the 1982 vintage. His pronouncements turned out to be the first in what would become an international debate.
The debate centred around disagreement as to whether 1982 was a good vintage, in the same way that ‘79 and ‘81 had been received as years that provided plenty of ‘good drinking claret’, or a spectacular vintage to rival the greats from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Many of the Chateau owners were very bullish about the quality of their fruit, although some doubts lingered due to the lower than usual acidities, higher than usual alcohol and bountiful crop – none of which implied to the traditionalists that these would be vins de garde.
Following the en primeur tastings during the spring of ‘83, the British merchants and press were impressed, although not as enthusiastic as Bettane had been. The consensus was that these were delicious wines that would provide generous early drinking and plenty of enjoyment, although they were not classically styled or structured enough to warrant buying for long-term cellaring.
The reaction in the U.S.A was similar, with plenty of positive noises but not much in the way of glowing praise. The major critics of the time were Terry Robards of the New York Times and Robert Finigan, who wrote a number of columns and published his own wine newsletter. Finigan’s newsletter was widely read around the time of the ‘82 debate and he had started relatively positive, reporting the excitement that had been generated amongst the region’s winemakers and chateau owners. However, once he had travelled to Bordeaux to taste cask samples for himself, that position changed. Finigan didn’t feel that the wines came close to justifying the hype and the March ‘83 edition of his newsletter told his readers this in no uncertain terms.
If the 1982 Bordeaux vintage was going to sell in the U.S.A, it would need someone to champion it and for people to listen. Stand up Robert Parker.
Robert Parker was a lawyer in Baltimore when he began writing the Wine Advocate, a publication that would go on to become the most influential in the wine world. By the early 80s the Advocate had built up a solid readership, although at this point it was #still something of a hobby and he wouldn’t walk away from the legal profession until 1984. He was looking and hoping for new subscribers and his blend of detailed analysis and enthusiastic tasting notes was turning an increasing number of heads. Of course there was the 100 point scale too, but the unabashed honesty and devout integrity of the Wine Advocate had given Parker an early reputation as a consumer champion. The 1982 vintage would get him a reputation as one of the world’s finest tasters.
Despite being relatively young and unknown, Parker had been travelling to France for a few years in the late 70s / early 80s. Talking with winemakers gave him invaluable insight, but tasting scores of wines from barrel and bottle had also equipped him with tasting experience that would prove to be invaluable during his visit in early ‘83.
After his return from tasting the ‘82s in Bordeaux, Parker was certain that they would be spectacular wines that would rival the best of the 20th century and prove to be an excellent investment for anyone buying on the ‘wine futures’ market. According to Elin McCoy in her book ‘Emperor of Wine’, Parker considered Bordeaux ‘82 to be “the best wine buys since he started tasting wine in 1968”. He couldn’t wait to get the next edition of the Advocate out to his readers and share the good news – even more so when he spoke to the lukewarm Terry Robards and the downright frosty Robert Finigan, who were happy to share with Parker their opinions on the ‘82s. When the Wine Spectator came out in mild praise, Parker really was the only American critic left that was waxing lyrical and his newsletter was littered with adjectives and superlatives that have become familiar to readers of the Advocate – ‘prodigious’, ‘stunning’, ‘blockbuster’ and the like.
Of course, the wine retailers were pleased to see a critic go positive on the wines – they had to sell them after all – and wine merchants all over the country got behind Parker’s version of events. They filled their displays and mailers with references to the Wine Advocate, quoting tasting notes and scores and pointing out that Parker was one of very few journalists in the world that had tasted the ‘82s thoroughly and repeatedly. Buyers took notice and in addition to buoyant sales of ‘82 Bordeaux, Parker had found the boost to subscriptions that the Advocate had been crying out for. Sales of the newsletter began to rise exponentially on the back of all the publicity Parker was receiving – Finigan’s newsletter stumbled on for a few years before being wound up.
Unhappy that his team had missed out on catching the ‘82 story early (or, indeed, accurately) Marvin Shanken of the Wine Spectator ran an article by the (then new) European correspondent James Suckling that was very enthusiastic about the vintage – the tide of opinion had turned and within a few years the common consensus would reflect Parker’s original assessment. But it always remained Parker’s assessment and the one that took him from being the editor of a regional wine newsletter to the most powerful journalist in the wine world.
The rest is history, from the hegemony of the 100 point scale to the perceived homogenisation of wine styles and all the other anti-Parker rhetoric that floats about the wine trade. But love him, respect him or loathe him, it was the ‘82 vintage that facilitated his rise to prominence.
1982 Bordeaux
In anticipation of our horizontal tasting of 1982 Bordeaux tonight, Mark shares his thoughts on the vintage and that man Parker.
1982 is often spoken about in the same breath as other great 20th century vintages such as ‘29, ‘45, ‘47, ‘59 and ‘61 – another of those candidates for ‘vintage of the century’ that come around every decade or so. Regardless of whether ‘82 was any better or worse than years it is compared to, there is little doubt that it was a fantastic vintage – and there can be no doubt whatsoever that it fundamentally changed the fabric of the fine wine world.
To be a truly great vintage, mother nature must be on your side. At the start of 1982’s growing season the excellent weather conditions brought an early and even flowering, giving the growers hope that the crop would be ripe and large (it proved to be the biggest on record up to that point). The good weather persisted as Bordeaux headed from a hot and dry summer in to a cooler but still dry September. When harvesting began midway through the month the vignerons were very happy – the must weights were high, ripeness levels superb and the crop was a bumper one.
Almost everywhere in the region had benefitted from the excellent conditions, although many wineries failed to cope with both the large amount of fruit coming in from the vineyards (where to put it all?) and the temperatures (this was before widespread cooling technology). In Sauternes they suffered from torrential rain late in October, dashing hopes of a great year for them although a couple of chateaux still made some good sweet wines. The other blip came in Margaux (the commune rather than the Chateau), where conditions were not quite as optimum as they were throughout the rest of the Haut-Medoc (and, indeed the major right-bank appellations).
All in all, it was a thoroughly satisfactory vintage and many in the region were very excited. The great Emile Peynaud declared that he had never seen “such a level of richness and quantity together”. Joining the chorus was a French wine writer called Michel Bettane (now one of the world’s most famous commentators), who is credited as being the first voice in the media to ‘come out’ on the quality of the 1982 vintage. His pronouncements turned out to be the first in what would become an international debate.
The debate centred around disagreement as to whether 1982 was a good vintage, in the same way that ‘79 and ‘81 had been received as years that provided plenty of ‘good drinking claret’, or a spectacular vintage to rival the greats from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Many of the Chateau owners were very bullish about the quality of their fruit, although some doubts lingered due to the lower than usual acidities, higher than usual alcohol and bountiful crop – none of which implied to the traditionalists that these would be vins de garde.
Following the en primeur tastings during the spring of ‘83, the British merchants and press were impressed, although not as enthusiastic as Bettane had been. The consensus was that these were delicious wines that would provide generous early drinking and plenty of enjoyment, although they were not classically styled or structured enough to warrant buying for long-term cellaring.
The reaction in the U.S.A was similar, with plenty of positive noises but not much in the way of glowing praise. The major critics of the time were Terry Robards of the New York Times and Robert Finigan, who wrote a number of columns and published his own wine newsletter. Finigan’s newsletter was widely read around the time of the ‘82 debate and he had started relatively positive, reporting the excitement that had been generated amongst the region’s winemakers and chateau owners. However, once he had travelled to Bordeaux to taste cask samples for himself, that position changed. Finigan didn’t feel that the wines came close to justifying the hype and the March ‘83 edition of his newsletter told his readers this in no uncertain terms.
If the 1982 Bordeaux vintage was going to sell in the U.S.A, it would need someone to champion it and for people to listen. Stand up Robert Parker.
Robert Parker was a lawyer in Baltimore when he began writing the Wine Advocate, a publication that would go on to become the most influential in the wine world. By the early 80s the Advocate had built up a solid readership, although at this point it was #still something of a hobby and he wouldn’t walk away from the legal profession until 1984. He was looking and hoping for new subscribers and his blend of detailed analysis and enthusiastic tasting notes was turning an increasing number of heads. Of course there was the 100 point scale too, but the unabashed honesty and devout integrity of the Wine Advocate had given Parker an early reputation as a consumer champion. The 1982 vintage would get him a reputation as one of the world’s finest tasters.
Despite being relatively young and unknown, Parker had been travelling to France for a few years in the late 70s / early 80s. Talking with winemakers gave him invaluable insight, but tasting scores of wines from barrel and bottle had also equipped him with tasting experience that would prove to be invaluable during his visit in early ‘83.
After his return from tasting the ‘82s in Bordeaux, Parker was certain that they would be spectacular wines that would rival the best of the 20th century and prove to be an excellent investment for anyone buying on the ‘wine futures’ market. According to Elin McCoy in her book ‘Emperor of Wine’, Parker considered Bordeaux ‘82 to be “the best wine buys since he started tasting wine in 1968”. He couldn’t wait to get the next edition of the Advocate out to his readers and share the good news – even more so when he spoke to the lukewarm Terry Robards and the downright frosty Robert Finigan, who were happy to share with Parker their opinions on the ‘82s. When the Wine Spectator came out in mild praise, Parker really was the only American critic left that was waxing lyrical and his newsletter was littered with adjectives and superlatives that have become familiar to readers of the Advocate – ‘prodigious’, ‘stunning’, ‘blockbuster’ and the like.
Of course, the wine retailers were pleased to see a critic go positive on the wines – they had to sell them after all – and wine merchants all over the country got behind Parker’s version of events. They filled their displays and mailers with references to the Wine Advocate, quoting tasting notes and scores and pointing out that Parker was one of very few journalists in the world that had tasted the ‘82s thoroughly and repeatedly. Buyers took notice and in addition to buoyant sales of ‘82 Bordeaux, Parker had found the boost to subscriptions that the Advocate had been crying out for. Sales of the newsletter began to rise exponentially on the back of all the publicity Parker was receiving – Finigan’s newsletter stumbled on for a few years before being wound up.
Unhappy that his team had missed out on catching the ‘82 story early (or, indeed, accurately) Marvin Shanken of the Wine Spectator ran an article by the (then new) European correspondent James Suckling that was very enthusiastic about the vintage – the tide of opinion had turned and within a few years the common consensus would reflect Parker’s original assessment. But it always remained Parker’s assessment and the one that took him from being the editor of a regional wine newsletter to the most powerful journalist in the wine world.
The rest is history, from the hegemony of the 100 point scale to the perceived homogenisation of wine styles and all the other anti-Parker rhetoric that floats about the wine trade. But love him, respect him or loathe him, it was the ‘82 vintage that facilitated his rise to prominence.