Chateau Latour 1978

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Mid blackish ruby with a broad pale rim. Serious stuff on the nose! Wonderfully complex with mineral layers and some dried herbs. Still very vigorous. Beautiful balance and intensity. Tasted after two younger top Margauxs, this really shows the staying power of Pauillac in general and Latour in particular. Lightly gritty (I think I got the dregs) and very definitely dry. Still a little, but not excessive, tannin on the end. Long and sore throat-soothing."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Better than I anticipated. A sleek and racy wine.Ruby-amber color. Aromas of cedar, cigar box,tobacco, mint and mushrooms, with hints of redfruits, follow though to a medium body with finetannins and a long, silky finish. Excellent now,but a little more bottle age would only improveit.--Latour vertical. Best after 2005."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Medium garnet-colored with moderate amber at the edge, the 1978 Latour offers a spicy, saddle leather, tobacco, dried herb, earthy nose with sweet fruit trying to poke through. Interestingly, new oak also makes an appearance in the flavors. Medium-bodied, elegant, and fragrant, but possibly beginning to dry out, this fully mature wine requires consumption over the next decade."