Popped and poured. Great fill and the cork was in surprisingly good shape and came out easily. Only 1 side of the cork was fairly saturated. Ruby red, with hints of orange around the edges. Nose was not all that appealing, with hints of dark fruits, chocolate, and a wet barnyard smell mixed in(cork?). The alcohol was also noticeable on the nose. Initial taste was better than the nose, but not by much. It had all of the above in addition to anise. A fairly thin and chalky feeling wine, with hardly any finish. Fun to try for a birth year wine, but would not recommend.

Thanks for the note. I am always keeping my eye out for the '78 birth year wines as well and I won't have to worry about this one.. My best luck so far has been with Burgundy and Rhone for '78. Unfortunately haven't had any Barolo/Barbaresco from that year, though I have had some luck with the few CA Cabs I have tried. Would love to try a Diamond Creek, Montelena or Montebello from '78 though.

This is actually my wife's birth year, not mine. I wouldn't mind being a couple years younger.

The last couple years I've tried to find a birth year wine for her birthday. So far this is the worst. The Guigal Hermitage was absolutely incredible and the Mayacamas Cabernet was pretty good, but fell apart quickly. I also have a 1978 Beaulieu Vineyard Pinot Noir Beaumont on tap, but don't have high expectations. Any recommendations for Burgs? I'm on the lookout for Montebello and Montelena as they seem to be much more reasonable priced than the Diamond Creeks I've seen.

Alohaj, I was thinking about picking up a barolo from 1978 - if I don't end up getting it, I will forward you the link of where to buy it. I hear it was a great year for Peidmont

I was just going to suggest looking toward Piemonte for wines from 1978. If you are interested, let me know and I'll forward you a list of wines available from a source I have in Italy with very attractive pricing.

I'd like to hear about that, Eric. I'm acquiring some '78s for my 30th celebrations.

Eric,

I would love to see what you have from 1978, 1976(my year), or any others that might be appealing.

Cheers,

Jeff