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[EricC]

Le millésime 1982 est celui qui a valu la gloire à Robert Parker (cf le sujet dédié).

On peut lire sur Decanter un article écrit 20 ans après (en 2002, donc, pour ceux qui ont du mal à suivre) par David Peppercorn (Master of Wine) :

Twenty years on – 1982 vintage
With 20 years behind us, the place of 1982 in the evolution of the Bordeaux vineyards is clear – as is the success of the vintners in converting quality on the vine into quality in the bottle. Going back over the tasting notes I made in the spring and autumn of 1983, my overwhelming impressions were depth of colour, very ripe-scented and often exotic fruit on the nose, great beauty of flavour and luscious fruit flavours allied to great tannic power, rather buried under the fruit initially but coming through ever more strongly as the wines evolved in barrel. We hailed it as the greatest vintage since 1961, though I always felt that only Latour really measured up to that remarkable year.
What 1982 did do, though, was to usher in a series of high-yielding, ripe vintages that have been the hallmark of the last 20 years. It took producers some time to come to grips with the challenges that this posed and there can be no doubt that, if the vintage had come today, many more outstanding wines would have been made. The primary reason why many wines that looked impressive in barrel have failed to stand the test of time turns on a lack of selection, as second wines were still the exception and green harvesting was still in the future.

[EricC]

Trente ans après (en 2012, suivez un peu quoi !), c'est James Suckling qui en parle à son tour :

The 1982 vintage changed my life in many ways. Most importantly, it etched in my mind how a great young vintage in barrel should taste. It taught me that great wines are always great, no matter if they are tasted from barrel or bottle, young or old. The best 1982s were fabulous from barrel and many are still fabulous today. And they are 30 years old.

La mise en gras est de mon fait, je trouve intéressant d'entendre un des critiques les plus réputés affirmer qu'un grand vin est toujours grand, qu'il soit goûté sur fût ou en bouteille, jeune ou vieux.

[EricC]

Suckling confirme que 1982 a été un millésime particulièrement mûr, mais le voit plus comme un épiphénomène dû à la Nature (comme avaient pu l’être 1947 et 1959) que comme l'amorce d'un tournant pour Bordeaux :

I don’t think we can say that the 1982 vintage changed everything for Bordeaux. Yes, it did resemble modern vintages of today with its rich fruit, relatively high alcohol, and ripe tannins, but this was more due to Mother Nature than the winemaking intentions of the chateaux. There were similar hot vintages in the past such as 1959 and 1947.

Si Suckling y voit un tournant c'est dans la façon dont le vin fut appréhendé par la suite, et félicite Parker pour sa contribution à ce phénomène, en regrettant à demi-mots de ne pas avoir eu la maturité (il était 10 ans plus jeune) et le support qui lui auraient peut-être permis d'avoir la même trajectoire :

Perhaps the timing of the vintage was more important. It was a vintage where a whole generation of new wine consumers in North America began buying fine Bordeaux – our generation. In addition, it was the year that wine critic Robert Parker coined his own and launched his career. He’s more than 10 years older than I am and I didn’t have the experience or the right platform at the time to do more than just report. But he deserves all the kudos for calling the vintage as great early – as most of us know.