Latour and Lafite – a look back from 1994 to 1978

The theme of the tasting of this year's wine weekend at Gidleigh Park in Devon when spring was at its most verdant and the woods were carpeted with (these new Spanish?) bluebells, was a comparison of Pauillac's two original first growths, from either end of the commune both geographically and stylistically. As you can see, when Lafite was good it was glorious (and it just couldn't be anything other than bordeaux), but Latour maintained its relatively consistent reputation, vintage in and vintage out.

On the basis of this tasting, best buys look to be Latour 1983 (one of the least...