I bought a case of Chateau Petrus 1979 in the early 1980s. It was
expensive for the time in the $30 range but not astronomical in price
as is nearly any recent vintage of Petrus. This is the second bottle I
have opened, and I reported on the first bottle here a few years ago.
I have found no reason to hurry to drink this or the 1971 for that
matter.

There were no cork or other issues and the fill was in the low neck..
The cork proved very difficult to remove - it nearly seemed to be
glued to the glass. The color is still quite dark and it takes an
intense light to see a bit of age showing around the rim. The wine is
fully mature. It might or might not improve a bit more. However it is
likely to keep well for many years. There is intense dark fruit with
mixed spice, both in the taste and bouquet. The tannins are resolved
and tame, but are easy to detect. There is enough acid, and the
balance is very good. I believe I like the 1971 a bit better because
it seems a bit more complex and intense than the 1979, but not much
more. At 30 years old, Petrus 1979 likely is one of the top, if not
the top, red Bordeauxs still drinking well and likely to last well for
several more years

On Dec 20, 9:32�pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> I bought a case of Chateau Petrus 1979 in the early 1980s. It was
> expensive for the time in the $30 range but not astronomical in price
> as is nearly any recent vintage of Petrus. This is the second bottle I
> have opened, and I reported on the first bottle here a few years ago.
> I have found no reason to hurry to drink this or the 1971 for that
> matter.
>
> There were no cork or other issues and the fill was in the low neck..
> The cork proved very difficult to remove - it nearly seemed to be
> glued to the glass. The color is still quite dark and it takes an
> intense light to see a bit of age showing around the rim. The wine is
> fully mature. It might �or might not improve a bit more. However it is
> likely to keep well for many years. There is intense dark fruit with
> mixed spice, both in the taste and bouquet. The tannins are resolved
> and tame, but are easy to detect. There is enough acid, and the
> balance is very good. I believe I like the 1971 a bit better because
> it seems a bit more complex and intense than the 1979, but not much
> more. At 30 years old, Petrus 1979 likely is one of the top, if not
> the top, red Bordeauxs still drinking well and likely to last well for
> several more years

Thanks for the notes. I tasted the 1979 a few times with mixed
results probably due to poor storage. I like your notes since you
always have a good hisory of the wine and it's storage is top notch.