The wine was Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1970 in magnum. The fill was
still in the neck, and there were no cork or other issues. The magnums
and single bottles of this wine were bought shortly after release and
stored properly. The cost then was about US$ 22 for the single bottles
and $45 for the magnums.

Lafite, Margaux, and Haut-Brion 1970 are selling in the 600 Pounds per
case range at present in the UK auctions. Mouton has increased to
about 1000 Pounds per case and the star of the vintage, if you exclude
Petrus, is Latour now going for 2300 Pounds per case.

Although I have opened several single bottles of the 70 Lafite over
the years, this is the first magnum. The wine was not very user
friendly when young and in middle age, having quite a bit of acid and
rather dry tannins. It took about 25 to 30 years of age to become
interesting to me. However the initial harshness has now softened out
into a wine that is fairly well balanced, typical fruit is still
present, and some complexity has developed. The trademark Lafite
"iron" mineral taste is now easy to detect that at once says this wine
is not one of the other wines mentioned, even if you have not tasted
them. The color is a bit lighter now, but there is only slight
indication of age around the rim. There was not enough oxidation of a
nasty nature for me to detect. The wine lacks the intensity and
concentration of the best Lafites in modern times, such as the 1959.
However it is a very decent food wine.

I would be very careful about buying any of the 1970 Lafite now. I
would want absolute proof that it was stored properly all of the time.
It is likely that some bottles stored under less than ideal condition
may have dried out by this time or even show some excessive
oxidation. However, if the price is right and you can taste it before
buying, it might be worth consideration for a good food wine. Just do
not taste it alone against 70 Latour, for example, and expect it to
score near the top.