This bottle of Chateau Laville Haut-Brion Creme de Tete 1982 was
properly stored since shortly after release. The cork was sound, and
the fill was still well within the neck.

Laville sometimes produces a special selection called Creme de Tete as
well as the normal wine. Often the Creme de Tete is more ripe and
concentrated than the normal wine. This 1982 was light lemon in color.
The grapes seem to have been very ripe, and I am reminded of beeswax as
well as the usual citrus and flinty notes. The wine is very rich and
smooth, but not at all sweet, and has plenty of acid to balance. The
finish is quite long. There is no hint of undue age or oxidation, and I
very much dislike oxidation in a dry white Bordeaux, although I can
tolerate a bit of oxidation in a very rich and very old Sauternes. This
is the best Laville I have tasted in a few years. The 1989 may be
better, but I have not tasted any of mine yet. Perhaps I need to open a
bottle of my 89(regular selection) fairly soon for comparison.

The main problem with top dry white Bordeaux wine such as this is that
there is not much of it and it tends to be expensive. However, I would
hardly call it overpriced compared with what top white Burgundy is now
bringing.