This was a recent gift. It came from the cellar of a long-time collector who passed away and left wine to his kids. The bottle was stood up for 4 days prior to opening.

Dark red brick color with brown at the edges. This had a very expressive nose of forest floor, green pepper, creosote, and eucalyptus. Smoky cedar palate with dried cranberry fruit. The fruit seemed a little tired. The finish still showed some tannin, outweighing the fruit. 87pts.

Overall this was not a bad drink, it just seemed a little tired. It reminded me of other 78s (Duhart and Haut Brion notably) where there was a definite green pepper streak in the nose. The nose on this was better than the body, but considering the price (free!) I can't complain.

I'm surprised it was only a litle tired. The 1978s haven't held up all that well.

B-O- You and I have had this discussion before. Check out this thread and Nicollo's comments, then check out this thread. The 78 Haut-Brion is a particularly stunning wine right now, although I would imagine that provenance would play an important role.

I suspect that my Louvriere was of excellent provenance, and this is about as good as it gets. Definitely tired, but I think both RMP and WS didn't ever really love this wine. Grade inflation has happened since then though, so I think an 84pt score (RMP) from the late 1980s is probable the same as a high 80s score today.

I think Pichon Lalande was the best 1978 Bordeaux wine that I bought. I had several more, but Pichon Lalande was my favorite..

Board-O,

I had the '78 Lafleur about 15 months ago and it was rock solid

Perhaps just an exception to other '78's...

There are certainly exceptions, but the majority of 1978 Bordeaux I've had recently seem to be tiring. The Margaux, proclaimed the wine of the vintage, never lived up to the early praise.