(Two previous 1983 wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from my CT).
Continuing a run of ‘83s over the last 3-6 months, this not only showed quite well, but it was at its best after almost two hours in the bottle. Whereas the ‘83 Pichon was clean and elegant, this was a bit more dense and powerful. Beautifully expressive aromatics of potpourri, espresso, fig and leather with a flavor profile mostly on the red/black fruit side of the spectrum. The mid-palate showed good weight and continued to bulk-up during the evening. Old cherry-tobacco note at the finish. Honestly, this drank like it was more early ‘90s than it was early ‘80s. Good. — 4 days ago
Slightly deeper ruby with a little narrower , less garnet rim . This is quite deep and slightly more herbal on the nose, floral perhaps , a little more austere. Spicy Cassis , tobacco , herbal touches . On the palate this is slightly more velvety with a riper dark fruits , mixed with a touch of dark cherry , spice and subtler , riper tannin . Quite ripe , more polished tannin. A bit bigger and riper in style , alcohol a bit more noticeable . Quite good dark cherry , dark chocolate, cassis finish . This is a little more polished , but probably needs a little more time , better in 5 years and will last well a further 10 . Overall a good showing , a classy , polished performance — 15 days ago
Flight 2 , wine 1 . Quite deep garnet , less terracotta rim . This had a whiff of oxidation about it at first which seemed to somewhat dissipate with time . Some dark spiced fruits , liquorice and menthol hints , cedar and sous bois . On the palate good ripeness and spiced dark cherry hints . Good acidity and rounded tannin . Nice length also , offering some spiced black fruits and menthol hints . Don’t think this is a pristine bottle but was enjoyable none the less , I was unsure at first if this was Napa , but coming back to it … and reading my notes , it became quite obvious . However I had this down as the Ch Montelena , not the Dominus — a day ago
(Two previous 1983 vintage wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from CT).
My experiences with 1983s has been fairly positive, and this PL certainly is among the better I’ve had from the vintage. Holding color nicely with deep ruby and slight bricking around the rim. Started off a bit dense and muddled, but hit stride about 30mins later with a mix of red and black berry fruit, cassis, a streak of herbal green down the middle (something I always get with PL). Excellent example of the fruit showing lots of flavor without being overly ripe. Leather, sweet pipe tobacco, graphite, and still some vibrancy at the finish with tannin structure. Clean and elegant at this stage. Showed well over the course of two hours. Drink up and enjoy. — 4 days ago
Michael Walker
Have held onto a six pack of these for several years but it’s not been long enough…super sparkly, like it’s a ‘24. Despite decanting two hours! Love the Rafanelli but needs a lot of age. — 20 days ago