The 1979 Gruaud Larose is still drinking well today, offering up a rich bouquet of cherries and berries mingled with hints of dried herbs, camphor and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and textural, with a generous core of fruit, powdery tannins and lively acids, it's a comparatively muscular, chunky rendition of the vintage that is far from decline from a good cellar.

Undeniably a top success for the vintage, the 1979 Gruaud-Larose has reached full maturity. It offers an intoxicating perfume of spices, black fruits, damp earth, minerals, and weedy fruit. Medium to full-bodied, with light tannins and moderately high acidity, this fleshy wine possesses more richness and depth than most wines from this vintage. Drink it over the next decade. Last tasted, 4/93.