Archive dive in five: Decanter March 1985

Cast your mind back to March 1985. Mikhail Gorbachev became the last leader of the Soviet Union, Amadeus won Best Picture at the Oscars, USA for Africa released its charity single We are the World, and Neighbours debuted on Australian TV.

And in the UK, the 76-page Volume 10, issue no7 of Decanter magazine hit the newsstands, priced at £1.50.

Within a lurid magenta border, Pauline Bewick's folksy Art Nouveau watercolour cover illustration shows a wine glass surrounded by grapes and vines, within which are depicted Laura Mentzelopoulos and her daughter Corinne in front of their Château Margaux estate.

Inside, these were five things that piqued our interest from the Decanter March 1985 issue.

Archive dive in five

1: Decanter Women of the Year 1985

The cover feature, by Decanter's Editor in Chief Colin Parnell, recognised the continuing work of Laura and Corinne Mentzelopoulos to restore Château Margaux – both estate and wine quality – to its former glory after Laura's husband and Corinne's father André died in 1980, just three years after purchasing the first growth.

This was the second iteration of the Decanter Man of the Year awards – rebranded Hall of Fame in 2017 – and the only time its name was changed to reflect women winning it. Even May-Eliane de Lencquesaing in 1994 and Jancis Robinson MW in 1999 (more on her below) were recognised as 'Men' of the Year.

2: Spectacular sweets

The main tastings feature of this issue was a 'spectacular' line up, comparing vintages back to 1846 of 'two of the world's greatest producers of sweet wines (some would say the two greatest)' wrote Decanter Editor Tony Lord.

Rheingau's Schloss Johannisberg and Sauternes premier grand cru classé Château d'Yquem each fielded 11 wines at this 'tribute to botrytis cinerea' at the German castle, with Michael Broadbent MW reporting for Decanter.

He gave 20/20 to both their 'magnificent' 1967s, remarking on the 'life-enhancing acidity' of Johannisberg's Trockenbeerenauslese and the 'glorious perfection' of Yquem.

3: Champagnes under £7

In a bid to answer the headline question 'Cheap Champagne: Are they really worth the money?', the Decanter tasting panel amassed 54 between £5.75 to £6.99 'with no difficulty', thanks primarily to a surplus of young, non-vintage stock from very big harvests in 1982 and 1983.

Despite being impressed with the quality, there was a word of warning at the end of the article. 'Drink half or three-quarters of a bottle of one of the more normally priced Champagnes [earlier said to be £9.50 or more] and you'll wake up fresh as a daisy the next day. But… a stomach full of young Champagne could give you a turn for the worse.'

4: Letters and questions

It's a sign of the times that there were six pages of reader letters in this Decanter March 1985 issue, compared to the sole Letter of the Month printed today. Plus, three pages of reader queries (what we now call Ask Decanter).

Ted Swarman of Clwyd in Wales asked: 'Can you tell me what the AP number on a German label actually means?' While it seems nerdy, it's a question wine students still get asked in exams today.

The Amtliche Prüfungsnummer is a mandatory 10-12 digit identification code, unique to a specific batch of wine, that proves it has passed government analytical and sensory quality control standards.

5: A familiar face

On our Dates for the Diary page, alerting readers to upcoming wine tastings, merchant sales and events across the UK, we highlight the 19 March start of the second series of Channel 4's The Wine Programme, presented by newly minted Master of Wine Jancis Robinson.

Robinson, who in 1984 became the first person outside the wine trade to pass the MW, wrote and presented three series of The Wine Programme.

The inaugural one, in 1983, was the world's first TV series on wine, and there was a third and final season in 1987.

Is there an issue from the past 50 years you'd like us to look back on? Drop us a line at editor@decanter.com

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