Anyone familiar with the 1978 Lafite Rothschild?
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Not familiar with that particular year ack, since I am sure you know it is more a collectable than an option to taste. I paid @750 us back in 2002 for 6 1986's Chateau LafIte. I hOpe this can serve as a reference price point for you.
You can also go to wine-searcher to see what retailers are charging and how much you might expect to pay in an on-line auction.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/lafite+rothschild/1978
1978 was not a great vintage for Lafite, but better vintages will cost you exponentially more. If it doesn't have to be Lafite, you might be able to do better for your money by getting a less well known bottle of Bordeaux from a better vintage.
If you are settled on 1978 Lafite....
Much depends on the provenance of the bottle you are considering. From whom are you buying it? Is it the original owner? How has he stored the wine? How does it look upon closer inspection? Things to look for are; How full is the bottle? A little evaporation in 32 years is to be expected, but too low a fill can be a warning sign. Are there any signs of seepage? If so, the bottle may have a loose cork. This can be caused by improper storage. If it has a loose cork, more air will get in and oxidize your wine before its time. Regarding the cork, are there any signs that the cork is depressed into the bottle or bulging out? Again, these are signs of improper storage. As wine heats up and cools down, it will suck the cork down or the air will expand and push the cork up, so those are bad signs. If you are buying from a reputable dealer, he/she should inspect the bottle and report its condition to you. Failing that, if you don't feel comfortable inspecting the bottle, find someone upon whom you can rely. If you find a well kept bottle of 1978 Lafite, you should be in for a treat. The wine will be aged and will have taken on cheesy flavors that can only be achieved through 32 years in a bottle lying on its side in proper temperature.
With Lafite, you can expect to find flavors of tart fruit mixed with cedar/tobacco/mineral. Something like a wooden cigar box mixed with lead pencil shavings.
Don't be surprised if the wine itself has turned to a brownish, garnet, or light pink/orange color.
Drink it with a steak. Don't get too caught up in the preparation of the steak. You want the wine to be the star and the steak to be the supporting player.
A simple grilled steak with a bottle of 1978 Lafite would be heavenly.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/lafite+rothschild/1978
1978 was not a great vintage for Lafite, but better vintages will cost you exponentially more. If it doesn't have to be Lafite, you might be able to do better for your money by getting a less well known bottle of Bordeaux from a better vintage.
If you are settled on 1978 Lafite....
Much depends on the provenance of the bottle you are considering. From whom are you buying it? Is it the original owner? How has he stored the wine? How does it look upon closer inspection? Things to look for are; How full is the bottle? A little evaporation in 32 years is to be expected, but too low a fill can be a warning sign. Are there any signs of seepage? If so, the bottle may have a loose cork. This can be caused by improper storage. If it has a loose cork, more air will get in and oxidize your wine before its time. Regarding the cork, are there any signs that the cork is depressed into the bottle or bulging out? Again, these are signs of improper storage. As wine heats up and cools down, it will suck the cork down or the air will expand and push the cork up, so those are bad signs. If you are buying from a reputable dealer, he/she should inspect the bottle and report its condition to you. Failing that, if you don't feel comfortable inspecting the bottle, find someone upon whom you can rely. If you find a well kept bottle of 1978 Lafite, you should be in for a treat. The wine will be aged and will have taken on cheesy flavors that can only be achieved through 32 years in a bottle lying on its side in proper temperature.
With Lafite, you can expect to find flavors of tart fruit mixed with cedar/tobacco/mineral. Something like a wooden cigar box mixed with lead pencil shavings.
Don't be surprised if the wine itself has turned to a brownish, garnet, or light pink/orange color.
Drink it with a steak. Don't get too caught up in the preparation of the steak. You want the wine to be the star and the steak to be the supporting player.
A simple grilled steak with a bottle of 1978 Lafite would be heavenly.
Thanks to all for the responses and especially rsbeck's... The label appears to be in a very good shape, and the bottle very well maintained, full fill, cork in original position, see pics. WS gave it a 94, some reviews are ecstatic, few are poor because apparently the wine was not properly stored on its side. I am considering it really as part of donating to a charity. 
Looks beautiful. Now, before you serve it, you want to stand it up for a day before opening. This is to let the sediment fall to the bottom of the bottle. You want to cool it down very slowly and gently. Serve it at around 62º. Serve it in some nice goblets. After letting the sediment fall to the bottom for a day, be careful handling the bottle so you don't stir up the sediment again.
Don't be surprised if the cork breaks when you go to pull it. This can happen with an old bottle of French wine. Open the bottle about 30 minutes before you're going to serve it and let it start breathing. With a bottle of wine at this age, I personally recommend against decanting. When you pour the wine, pour it gently so you don't stir up the sediment.
As you get towards the bottom of the bottle, stop pouring when you have around an inch or so of wine left. If a little bit of sediment goes into a glass, not a huge deal. It will sink to the bottom of the glass. Just drink the wine slowly and it should stay on the bottom of the glass. If you happen to get some in your mouth, you'll find it tastes something like wine mixed with coffee grounds.
If you've enjoyed aged wine before, you'll know what to expect. 32 year old wine will have some things in common with moldy cheese and will probably be a light garnet color. It will likely have a tapestry of flavors that are knit together making it hard to identify them all. With Lafite, you might taste some flavors of cigar box, lead pencil shavings or it may taste like the best tea you've ever had.
If you've served it at 62º, it will warm up a little as it sits in your glass, that's okay. No need to try and keep it cool. As it warms in your glass and as the air does its thing, you'll notice that the wine will change as you drink it. Take your time and savor it. Roll it around on your tongue so all of your various taste buds can be stimulated by it. Swirl it in the glass a little and inhale the wonderful aromas. I'm sure you know what to do.
I would love it if you would report your tasting notes in this thread.
Enjoy it and congratulations of combining a gift to charity with one the best pleasures in life!
Don't be surprised if the cork breaks when you go to pull it. This can happen with an old bottle of French wine. Open the bottle about 30 minutes before you're going to serve it and let it start breathing. With a bottle of wine at this age, I personally recommend against decanting. When you pour the wine, pour it gently so you don't stir up the sediment.
As you get towards the bottom of the bottle, stop pouring when you have around an inch or so of wine left. If a little bit of sediment goes into a glass, not a huge deal. It will sink to the bottom of the glass. Just drink the wine slowly and it should stay on the bottom of the glass. If you happen to get some in your mouth, you'll find it tastes something like wine mixed with coffee grounds.
If you've enjoyed aged wine before, you'll know what to expect. 32 year old wine will have some things in common with moldy cheese and will probably be a light garnet color. It will likely have a tapestry of flavors that are knit together making it hard to identify them all. With Lafite, you might taste some flavors of cigar box, lead pencil shavings or it may taste like the best tea you've ever had.
If you've served it at 62º, it will warm up a little as it sits in your glass, that's okay. No need to try and keep it cool. As it warms in your glass and as the air does its thing, you'll notice that the wine will change as you drink it. Take your time and savor it. Roll it around on your tongue so all of your various taste buds can be stimulated by it. Swirl it in the glass a little and inhale the wonderful aromas. I'm sure you know what to do.
I would love it if you would report your tasting notes in this thread.
Enjoy it and congratulations of combining a gift to charity with one the best pleasures in life!
Thanks. It looks like it will be "sacrificed" over the holidays, probably for new year's... I will report back.
So the drama built up to New Year's, with some close friends gathering late afternoon for the tasting. I decided to pair the Lafite with a 2003 /30th anniversary Phelps Insignia for the dinner. The ritual started at the start of the 3rd movement - the Passacaglia - of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No 1, to the dramatic sounds of Vengerov's Stradivarius, with Rostropovich leading the LPO... The bottle had a few positive things going for it: full fill, cork in original position, as shown in the pictures above; looked like it was extremely well preserved. Still, its age left the likelihood wide open for possible over-fermentation. The anticipation was sky high by all in the room, so much so that part of the video shot by one of the participants was partly shot upside down :-(
The cork gave me a little trouble at first - stuck at the top. As I worked a knife around it, I could see the bottom of the cork still very wet - another good indication. It finally comes off, and I expected a stinky smell to it; to the contrary, the cork smelled fantastic - another positive aspect. The wine is poured, I take a whiff, then a taste, and everyone is looking at me with a huge stare of eagerness in their eyes...
The result? A deep and slightly foggy purple color, exceptional smell and a sublime taste. I serve the rest of the crowd, and they appear in utter disbelief at the exceptional taste. Woody as you'd expect, a dance of berries with beautiful aromas - such a complete and mature wine. So much so, that we all still had the taste of it well into the next day. The aromas were still all over in the glass even after 2 hours! In contrast, at dinner the Insignia tasted so young, so still not together, although beautiful in its own right.
Needless to say this was a truly exceptional New Year's gathering... when the wine is good, everything is good.
PS: very little sediment on the bottom of the bottle, although I let it stand for two hours...
The cork gave me a little trouble at first - stuck at the top. As I worked a knife around it, I could see the bottom of the cork still very wet - another good indication. It finally comes off, and I expected a stinky smell to it; to the contrary, the cork smelled fantastic - another positive aspect. The wine is poured, I take a whiff, then a taste, and everyone is looking at me with a huge stare of eagerness in their eyes...
The result? A deep and slightly foggy purple color, exceptional smell and a sublime taste. I serve the rest of the crowd, and they appear in utter disbelief at the exceptional taste. Woody as you'd expect, a dance of berries with beautiful aromas - such a complete and mature wine. So much so, that we all still had the taste of it well into the next day. The aromas were still all over in the glass even after 2 hours! In contrast, at dinner the Insignia tasted so young, so still not together, although beautiful in its own right.
Needless to say this was a truly exceptional New Year's gathering... when the wine is good, everything is good.
PS: very little sediment on the bottom of the bottle, although I let it stand for two hours...
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It was spectacular. I am not at your level, but I can tell you my guests are describing the wine as "quite tremendous" and "massive" on facebook. From my perspective, I am only looking forward to next year's where I expect to get a 1982 or 1983 Margaux. Any thoughts on that? And then compare that price and value (~$750) to a Shunyata Black Mabma CX (since I have those) and let me know which one is the bargain... the wine, of one of the top vintages, carrying so much art and painstaking craftmanship and care behind it; or the power cable, with just an hour's worth of work to assemble and a patent (purchased from a professor, I might add) for the helix construction, which God knows what kind of benefit it adds, if any 
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
It was spectacular. I am not at your level, but I can tell you my guests are describing the wine as "quite tremendous" and "massive" on facebook. From my perspective, I am only looking forward to next year's where I expect to get a 1982 or 1983 Margaux. Any thoughts on that? And then compare that price and value (~$750) to a Shunyata Black Mabma CX (since I have those) and let me know which one is the bargain... the wine, of one of the top vintages, carrying so much art and painstaking craftmanship and care behind it; or the power cable, with just an hour's worth of work to assemble and a patent (purchased from a professor, I might add) for the helix construction, which God knows what kind of benefit it adds, if any
I am no wine expert but I have only had the privilege of having one bottle of Margaux in my life and IIRC it was a 1971 or 1973. It was given to me by none other than rsbeck here who definitely knows what he is talking about. We had it ~2 years ago and the cork was perfect and very little sediment. It was without question one of the 2 best bottles of wine I have ever tasted. The other was a d'Yquem also donated by rsbeck when he, I , Marty and another audiophile buddy were out for dinner. I rarely have a desert wine but this was truly an amazing wine.
Thanks Rob
Really? An expensive wine that tastes like a wooden cigar box mixed with lead pencil shavings? Is this a joke? Pass the Boone's Farm. Personally, I don't drink wine unless it tastes like beer. But tasting like a wooden cigar box and lead pencil shavings? Yummy.
Donated, huh! How do I meet this gentleman again in person? Perhaps I need to start a non-profit fund - the Private Wine Tasters' Benefit Fund For The Promotion Of La Joie d'être Ivre! - and then anyone can... donate!
Perhaps I need to start a non-profit fund - the Private Wine Tasters' Benefit Fund For The Promotion Of La Joie d'être Ivre! - and then anyone can... donate!
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I had a bottle of Pelham Estates (a red one) with one of them new screwcap tops (man, that's convenient) and I just poured myself a full glass. No sediment, no smell, nothing....it was perfect!
1983 Margaux is spectacular and will cost you significantly less than the 1982.
I've had the 1983 Margaux on several occasions.
In fact, it was a 1983 Margaux that I brought to drink with Steve.
It is wonderful, wonderful wine.
Once again, it helps to know the reason for the price discrepancy in the marketplace.
In this case, it is because the 1982 vintage was highly rated in all of the various sub-regions of Bordeaux.
When this happens, it brings out buyers in droves because buying is easy.
You don't have to recall which regions scored highly, you just have to remember the year.
So, 1982 Vintage Bordeaux has appreciated much quicker than 1983.
In 1983, most of Bordeaux had a mediocre year, but the Margaux region, a micro-climate of its own, had a fabulous year.
When this happens, the vintage, across the board does not appreciate as quickly.
The two most respected Chateaus in the Margaux region have been Chateau Margaux and Chateau Palmer.
Both of those Chateaus made wonderful wine in 1983.
So, you can get wine that is just as good and perhaps even a touch better from those Chateaus' 1983 vintage for a much better price than 1982.
Highly recommended.
I've had the 1983 Margaux on several occasions.
In fact, it was a 1983 Margaux that I brought to drink with Steve.
It is wonderful, wonderful wine.
Once again, it helps to know the reason for the price discrepancy in the marketplace.
In this case, it is because the 1982 vintage was highly rated in all of the various sub-regions of Bordeaux.
When this happens, it brings out buyers in droves because buying is easy.
You don't have to recall which regions scored highly, you just have to remember the year.
So, 1982 Vintage Bordeaux has appreciated much quicker than 1983.
In 1983, most of Bordeaux had a mediocre year, but the Margaux region, a micro-climate of its own, had a fabulous year.
When this happens, the vintage, across the board does not appreciate as quickly.
The two most respected Chateaus in the Margaux region have been Chateau Margaux and Chateau Palmer.
Both of those Chateaus made wonderful wine in 1983.
So, you can get wine that is just as good and perhaps even a touch better from those Chateaus' 1983 vintage for a much better price than 1982.
Highly recommended.
You're being too literal. Those aren't the only fragrances and flavors. A cigar box smells of cedar and tobacco. I love the smell of wooden cigar box! Lead pencil shavings smell of cedar and lead. Lead is a mineral flavor that is highly prized in certain red wines. We're not talking about dominant flavors here. If you've ever had aged red wine with subtle traces of these fragrances and flavors woven in with others in a seamless tapestry, it is seriously addictive and when you drink it with red meat, it is frikken heaven in a bottle.
Actually, that bottle had a fair amount of sediment at the bottom.
We just avoided it by leaving the last inch or so if wine in the bottle.
Sediment in aged red wine is actually a very good sign.
It's just the natural byproduct of the tannin resolving over time.
That was indeed a great night all around.
Nice meal, fabulous wine, great friends ---- and amazing sound!
Thank you for setting it all up.
rsbeck-I was just joshing you. As somone who doesn't drink wine, someone describing the flavors of an expensive wine by comparing it to a cigar box and lead pencil shavings just struck me funny. I guess if I was a wine snoot, I would get all excited about those flavors. And no, you won't find any expensive wines at my house as the only wines I have are for cooking. I probably couldn't tell the difference between a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 and your 1978 Lafite except the Mad Dog would probably be missing the lead pencil shavings and cigar box flavors.
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