Anyone familiar with the 1978 Lafite Rothschild?

[Steve Williams]

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

[mep]

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.

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.

[ack]

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!

[John72953]

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!

[rsbeck]

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.

[rsbeck]

tasting like a wooden cigar box and lead pencil shavings?

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.

[rsbeck]

very little sediment. Thanks Rob

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]

Personally, I don't drink wine unless it tastes like beer.

Hey, if you've got any aged Bordeaux laying around your house with all of that yucky cedar and tobacco flavor, I'll be glad to give you a few bottles of beer for it.

[rsbeck]

This is actually what I wrote earlier in the thread....

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...

[mep]

Hey, if you've got any aged Bordeaux laying around your house with all of that yucky cedar and tobacco flavor, I'll be glad to give you a few bottles of beer for it.

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.