Great Reds (and whites) from 1983

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Mon May 22, 2006 9:50 pm

Any suggestions? It would be interesting to have a white, but mainly looking at reds from this year, as a birthday present to a friend.

Only one I knew of is Lindemans 1983 (any thoughts on this?).

Amount I want to spend is $100 and under.

Thanks guys

Alex

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Mon May 22, 2006 11:19 pm

For aged wines, it is always a good idea to look at the once great Penfolds stable. Based on reviews on the Penfolds range of wines by Andrew Caillard (MW), I would go for the 1983 St.Henri (reviewed 1999: Crimson. Tight and focussed liquorice/meaty/slight tarry aromas. The palate is highly concentrated with liquorice/blackberry/meaty fruit characters, fine-grained tannins and excellent length. Lovely balance of age and youth. 93/100. Drink Now to 2008) or 1983 Bin 389 (reviewed 1999: Brick red. Blackcurrant/meaty/coconut/vanillin/sweet fruit aromas with some menthol. The palate is bright and highly concentrated with developed meaty, coconutty flavours, fine-grained tannins and good length. 86/100. Drink to 2005)... but I reckon those Bin 389s hang in very well.

Both should be available for less than $100 at auction.

Interestingly, there is no detail of a 1983 Wendouree ever being sold at Langton's. If there were one for sale, Shiraz or Cabernet based, I would give that a consideration after asking the advice of a few of the more knowledgeable people here.

Oh, and good luck with the whites. I can't even say that I have had a 1983 Hunter Semillon. If you were keen for a wine, I would call Seppelt's and see if they have any 1983 Riesling for sale. They seem to be selling off old stock at the moment, not from years of any great repute, but are drinking excellently based on tasting notes from forumites.

I hope this helps.

Adair

Mike Hawkins · Post by **Mike Hawkins** » Tue May 23, 2006 12:26 am

Alex, getting a good SA wine from the "Ash Wednesday" vintage may be tough for under $100. That having been said, I had the 83 Bin 707 about 4 years ago and it was drinking OK - tannin dominated the fruit from memory.

Adair's idea about contacting Seppelts is a good one, but I think the Lindemans would be the go. Do a search of this site and you will find multiple references to it.

Murray · Post by **Murray** » Tue May 23, 2006 7:44 am

The Cape Mentelle Cab 1983 was holding up beautifully a couple of years ago, it was one of the truly great Jimmy Watson winners.

The other well worth considering is the Seppelt Para 21 YO 1983. Still widely available at around $40. It spent 21 years in oak before being blended and bottled.

GraemeG · Post by **GraemeG** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:06 am

Mike Hawkins wrote:Alex, getting a good SA wine from the "Ash Wednesday" vintage may be tough for under $100. That having been said, I had the 83 Bin 707 about 4 years ago and it was drinking OK - tannin dominated the fruit from memory.

Yes, Bin 707 from 1983 is drinking gloriously. I've have TNs on this site - it's a smart wine. 11.2% alcohol, lots of cedary developed notes, very enjoyable indeed. Would come in a little under $100 at Langtons I reckon. Planning to crack my last bottle in July and looking forward to it!

cheers,
Graeme

Baby Chickpea · Post by **Baby Chickpea** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:16 am

Would go for the 83 Cape mentelle - one of the great Aussie cabernets. personally I would pass on 83 St henri and 707 - pretty mediocre wines now tired and on the downhill.

fred · Post by **fred** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:24 am

Both the 83 CM CS and the shiraz (which was a ver different style then) were holding ok last year (but certainly just on the precipice of descent) and another wine in very good nick from the vintage is the 1983 Moss Wood CS.

Hard to go past the Lindemans (enormous bottle variation) but the magnums are still very young tasting and magnificent....

1983 was also an underrated vintage for Bordeaux: RP downgraded it and for a while it was very cheap at auction : while lacking the sheer power of the 82s there are some excellent wines from that vintage including LLC (adittedly well over $100 now) and the occasional cheapie Magdeleine, Cantemerle spring to mind which - if well-cellared - are drinking nicely now and won't break the budget.

PS danny is right: skip the 83 Penfolds except the Grange -and you won't get teh Grange for that price anyway.

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Tue May 23, 2006 2:00 pm

thanks guys... the 1983 tawny while very good is off limits... she's already got me a bottle for my birthday already

But I will have a look at those suggestions and see what comes up

good thing to search about now...

How much will a 1983 grange go for? In your opinion guys if I was going to get a few bottles from 1983 would it be good to spread the budget over a few bottles, or just buy one nice expensive one?

Alex

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Tue May 23, 2006 2:11 pm

From Langton's:

1983 PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange Shiraz - Range: $260-360 - Last Sale Price: $309... but remember to add the 15% commission on top.

For what it is worth, I believe it worth every cent.

Adair

Adair · Post by **Adair** » Tue May 23, 2006 2:15 pm

For posterity, I thought I should mention that the above post was my 1000th and have decided to mark it with a little screenshot.

Adair

Aussie John · Post by **Aussie John** » Tue May 23, 2006 3:20 pm

Two affordable reds that spring to mind

1. Chateau Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet
Wonderful wine, although it needs a few years yet to reach its drinking plateau (2010+) Last seen in 2004, and rated 92+

2. Baileys Hermitage
The shiraz wines from this producer went thru an amazing streak from about 1974 to 1986, all being simply spectacular. The 1983 has now reached its peak, and is an absolute stunner. Last seen 2005, rated 95pts on that occassion.

I don't know how often these crop up at auction, but I have seen the Tahbilk in retail stores (Winebins in Prahan, Melb springs to mind)

IMO, the 83 Grange will be amongst the best 5 yet made, but it needs at least another decade, or two, to really show its stuff. It is truly a 100 year wine. $300 is a steal, in comparison to the current release prices of 2001, which is nowhere near the quality of the 83.

crusty2 · Post by **crusty2** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:37 pm

had both the 1983 St. Henri and Bin 28 in the last few months and both are drinking well, with personal preference to the St. Henri.
1983 Lindemans Bin 6600 is supposed to be good but variable, yet to try mine.
1983 Bordeaux can be very tannic and unyielding, obviously depends on the chateau. Sauternes/Barsac might be nice now.
the longer you listen to the forum the more options and more confused you may get.
good luck and enjoy whatever choice you make.

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Tue May 23, 2006 9:02 pm

nice work adair... glad i could be part of it

Reliability of grange bottles is an issue, don't want to spend $300 and find it undrinkable

hence my idea of buying more, but spend less per bottle.

Alex

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Fri May 26, 2006 11:36 am

Anyone else having login problems???

Anyway Adair, I called Seppelts (both cellar doors) and they don't have any of the 1983 riesling left... pity since i read some of those nice reviews too.

I am also never calling the general Foster's help line anymore... gave me a big run around... in the end I just called the cellar doors instead.

Maybe I have to be part of the drives or some other member for them to find me a few bottles...

ah well.