Other End of the Spectrum - 1976 Lafite

I recently opened a bottle of 1976 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Here's the story.

Many years ago, in my nascent wine enthusiast days, I bought some very good Bordeauxs. Ah, those were the days! The wines you could get for five or six dollars a bottle!

Well, I decided to splurge. I had recently gotten married, and I decided to buy a case of the best available wines from that vintage. I went to the wine store and got a case each of 1976 Lafite and Latour. I paid about thirty dolars a bottle, which was hugely expensive in those days.

Frank Schoonmaker: " Chateau Lafite - In the opinion of most impartial experts, and perhaps in the mind of the general public as well, the ne plus ultra of Claret and the greatest red wine vineyard in the world. Lafite or Lafite-Rothschild was ranked first among the First Growths in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, and has maintained its place with surprising consistency over the decades. Its special fame dates from the 17th. century, when it was the property of M. de Segur, and it was purchased in 1868 by Baron James de Rothschild."

Hugh Johnson: "Lafite ---- makes about 800 barrels if its fabulously expensive wine; a perfumed, polished, gentlemanly product."

Claude Feret: "The celebrated growth of Lafite is of remote origin and very ancient renown. It occupies the finests crests in Pauillac, a region the Latin poet Ausonius spoke of as early as the year 325 B.C. The bouquet of Lafite is very suave, and of incomparable delicacy; its savor brings together, at the same time, the taste of almonds and the scent of violets."

Once in a while, on our anniversary, I open one. This year was one of those years, so I got out my last 1976 Lafite and opened it (what am I waiting for, right?).

What was the wine like? Well, its hard to live up to that kind of hype. The wine was definitely polished and smooth. I got flavors of cherries. The tannin was all gone, so it was not a blockbuster sort of thing, something more subtle. Relatively low alcoholic content, only about 12%. It was almost ethereal ; something to savor. An interesting experience, not the type of wine you run into every day, to say the least

If you happen to have any lying around, I recommend drinking them up; they will not improve with any more age.