Betsy was coming home from a few days in Boston, I marinated some lamb
chops with garlic and rosemary, plus prepared a arugula/bean dish,
mashed potatoes, and a green salad. To celebrate her return and to
mourn the large amount of money we need to spend on roof, I opened the
1982 Ch. Lanessan (Haut-Medoc). 26 is certainly pushing it for a Cru
Bourgeois, and I had a backup bottle of Bordeaux ready. Nice dark
color on decanting, though I think the fruit is a bit pruney at first.
I worry that it will crack up quickly. Surprisingly, the opposite
happens. Fruit seems to freshen into more classic blackcurrant, with
an undertone of red plums. There's pencil shavings and leather. Low
acid, round, resolved tannins, decent length. Not a wine that I'd call
great, but holds up well over 2 hours and is satisfying claret, albeit
in a ripe round style. While many are fading now, one of the things
that made '82 great for me is the astounding number of well-performing
lower end wines. B++

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
*