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Tasting notes
PRODUCTION: 1,976 cases. This is a justifiably fabled vintage of La Tache, but owners of it should not push their luck. The 1978 has been fully mature for over five years. The color is a murky plum with some lightening at the edge. The wine offers an exquisite nose of smoked meats, jammy black fruits, floral scents, minerals, and damp forest-like aromas, as well as that unmistakable DRC prune-like character that comes from over-ripe fruit. Full-bodied and fleshy, with a chewy mid-palate revealing exceptional opulence, this silky-textured, smooth wine possesses high alcohol and a viscous finish. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. In magnum, this wine might be perfect! Wine Advocate.August, 1995
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Neal Martin
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The 1978 La Tache Grand Cru is admittedly a wine that I have always wanted to taste, just the stratospheric price tag prohibiting me from doing so...until now, thanks to the generosity of my host rather than me winning the lottery. My expectations were understandably sky high given the reputation, but I was not disappointed because it lived up to everything I hoped for. Mature in color with wide bricking on the rim, the nose is utterly bewitching with fragrant scents of orange peel, iron piping, damp undergrowth, wild mushroom and a hint of dried blood. It felt intense yet beautifully defined. The palate felt fully mature after 38 years, the tannins completely melted. While there is not the weight of the 1978 Romanee-Conti, there is a sense of presence and grandeur imbued by this La Tache. The balance is perfect, the symmetry beguiling, and it gently fans out on the pure, caressing finish. It offers everything you could wish from a mature Pinot Noir, a hauntingly beautiful wine that I shall remember for a very long time. Tasted September 2016. Mar 2017, www.robertparker.com
About the producer

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti or simply “DRC” is without doubt the most famous domaine in Burgundy and one of the most famous producers on earth. The Grand Cru vineyard from which it takes its name produces the world’s most expensive wine by a long margin.