The ’82s wouldn’t have had such a powerful and long-lasting impact, of course, if they had proven to be busts in the bottle over the last quarter-century. But they have matured brilliantly, a point emphatically demonstrated at a recent tasting in New York of 25 of the top wines from the vintage. Organized by Acker Merrall & Condit, the Manhattan retailer and auction house, the tasting included all five First Growths (Châteaux Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Latour, Haut-Brion, and Mouton-Rothschild), their Right Bank equivalents (Pétrus, Cheval Blanc, and the exceedingly rare Lafleur), and a raft of other highly rated wines. Apart from one corked bottle (Vieux Château Certan) and two underwhelming ones (Ausone, Lynch-Bages), there was not a dud in the bunch. While the ’82s may have been Napalike at birth, they are unmistakably Bordelais now: Although still plenty rich and mouth-filling, the wines have become more refined, and they have developed all the leathery, earthy, and mineral bass notes that are hallmarks of classic Bordeauxs.

The ’82 Mouton showed why it has been lauded as the best wine of the vintage, displaying a magical blend of power and finesse, yin and yang. Others standouts included the Haut-Brion, Latour, Pétrus, Cheval Blanc, L’Evangile, and Lafleur. Two less-heralded wines, Calon-Ségur and the perennially underappreciated Grand-Puy-Lacoste, were also sensational—something to keep in mind as the great 2005 Bordeauxs (which may ultimately eclipse the ’82s) begin arriving in stores. Prices for the highest-rated ’05s are already stratospheric; Calon-Ségur and Grand-Puy-Lacoste are bargains by comparison, and if the ’05 versions of these wines age as well as the ’82s, they are going to look like even smarter buys two decades from now.