1978 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: 
Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1978 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1978 vintage, our top recommendations and region reports. Scroll down to see all of our wines currently available. If you cannot find what you are looking for please call us on 01425 837177 or Contact Us. We would love to help you with your wine choice!
In France, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire and the Alsace all enjoyed excellent years, producing a wide range of sophisticated wines, some of which were capable of great aging. For Sauternes, however, the year was distinctly average and, for Champagne, it was downright poor. For France, the star region was indisputably the Rhône Valley, which had a legendary year for both the north and south. Italy had a legendary vintage and Spain's was also notably good. Any of these wines would make a fabulous 48 year old wine gift for an Anniversary or birthday.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
This Year in History: Fun Fact: Louise Brown, the first “test-tube baby,” was born healthy in Oldham General Hospital, UK.
Eurovision Winner: Israel with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta
Top Grossing Movie: Grease
Bordeaux: The 1978 wine vintage was excellent for the Bordeaux region. The dry, hot summer produced wines that were medium-bodied, deeply coloured, fruity and moderately tannic. The wines reached their peak of maturity in the 1990s but are still drinking well now and will continue to do so for some years to come.
Italian: 1978 was a trouble free vintage across the Tuscany region with an early spring, warm but not excessively hot summer and well distributed rainfall. There was a certain amount of rain early in the harvest but those producers who picked later benefited from a period of uninterrupted fine weather. Altogether for Tuscany this was a 4 out of 5 Vintage. Conversely, the year started with cold and damp weather in Piedmont. Spring was particularly wet with lower than average seasonal temperatures; not until the second half of June did the weather pick up, too late for the flowering, which took place in very wet conditions causing a significant reduction in the crop. After light rains at the beginning of September, the weather suddenly turned around and the rest of the month was hot and dry with a marked difference between day and nighttime temperatures. The dramatic improvement continued through until the end of the Nebbiolo harvest during the third week of October. Natural selection and a warm autumn meant a very small crop of thick-skinned Nebbiolo grapes in Barolo and Barbaresco. By the end of the season this hailed as a great, long-lived vintage with a rating of 5/5.
Portugal: 1978 was a good Port vintage, although not a declared one; the wines are not outstanding but are still attractive and drinkable. 1978 was the year when the labelling of 'single quinta' became popular. Michael Symington, Head Winemaker at Symington Family Estates (Owners of Warre's, Dow's, Cockburn's, Smith Woodhouse and Graham's among others) wrote of the 1978 vintage "Musts showed exceptional colour and body and very dark, heavy wines have certainly been made. Not a trace of mould or rot was to be seen on the grapes coming in, and seldom can a Vintage have been made from more uniformly healthy grapes."
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65 products found.
Sogno di Bacco, 1978
Umberto Fiore - *** DOUBLE MAGNUM of 3 Liters ***
Sogno di Bacco is made from thelong lasting nebbiolo grape. Nebbiolo is a black-skinned red wine grape variety most famous for creating the 'tar and roses' scent of Barolo wines from Piedmont, north-western Italy. The grape's very name is evocative of its home among the misty foothills of the western Alps; the nebbia (Italian for 'fog') after which it is named frequently arrives on early October mornings, when the Nebbiolo harvest is in full swing.
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Price: £349.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Spanna, 1978
Antoniolo - Cà Rossa
Spanna has often been cited by wine experts as one of Italy’s greatest ageing wines. Spanna’s longevity can be attributed, at least in part, to the addition of smaller amounts of less tannic, more acidic grape varieties. Tasting notes: The nose opens up beautifully after about an hour and the wine has gorgeous ripe and sweet fruit, nice acidity, and perfectly softened tannins.
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Price: £99.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Spanna, 1978
Ma. Vi. P
Spanna has often been cited by wine experts as one of Italy’s greatest ageing wines. Spanna’s longevity can be attributed, at least in part, to the addition of smaller amounts of less tannic, more acidic grape varieties. Tasting notes: The nose opens up beautifully after about an hour and the wine has gorgeous ripe and sweet fruit, nice acidity, and perfectly softened tannins.
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Price: £69.00
Stock: 8 in Stock
Taittinger, 1978
Vintage Champagne, Victor Vaserely
Taittinger Collection Victor Vasarely 1978
Vintage & Artist Edition Background
The 1978 vintage of the Taittinger Collection was the very first in the Collection Series, and in 1983 it was released in a visually striking bottle designed by Victor Vasarely, the Hungarian-French founder of the Op Art movement. His geometric, kinetic design makes this edition a collectible masterpiece. The wine inside was made during one of the smaller yet high-quality harvests in post-war Champagne.
Blend & Style
The composition blends 60% Pinot Noir—drawing from the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne Grand Cru vineyards—with 40% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs. …
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Price: £365.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Vei Cavour (Piemonte), 1978
Giordano *** DOUBLE MAGNUM BOTTLE OF 3,0 LITERS ***
Aged red wine. Selected red grapes produce this lively and elegant wine with an intense red colour and subtle orange tones. Its soft velvety bouquet results from a period of maturation in Slavonian oak barrels, ensuring a full and rounded taste.
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Price: £299.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Vei Cavour (Piemonte), 1978
Giordano *** DOUBLE MAGUM OF 3,0 LITERS WITH WOODEN SUPPORT ***
Aged red wine. Selected red grapes produce this lively and elegant wine with an intense red colour and subtle orange tones. Its soft velvety bouquet results from a period of maturation in Slavonian oak barrels, ensuring a full and rounded taste.
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Price: £249.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Xanto, 1978
Antinori
Very old and rare reserve of an italian port style dessert wine from the vintage great vintage 1978.
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Price: £99.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Kopke, 1978
Colheita Port
Decanter 2021 Silver Award Winner
Comes in Original Gift Box
***94 Points- Mark Squires, eRobertParker.com 23 March 2016***
Review:
The 1978 Kopke Colheita Tawny Port was bottled in 2015 with 119 grams per litre of residual sugar and a bar top cork (typical for the house). It is very graceful for its age, finishing with a wave of sweetness, fruit and sugar. Emphasizing the caramel more than the molasses, this is irresistibly delicious, but it becomes more complex and puts on weight as it airs and warms. The wine shows off its power and hints of Brandy on the rather tense finish, too. Overall, this is a beauty that becomes more impressive the longer you sit with it. …
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Price: £149.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Cabernet, 1978
Giovanni Polo Morassutti
An Italian red wine made by blending the international grape varieties merlot and cabernet. Very forward nose of leather and cherries, liquorice wild strawberries, ripe plums and pencil. The palate is very nice balance of sweet fruit and acidity.
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Price: £49.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Croft Port, 1978
Tercentinery Special Edition Old Tawny Port
To mark their Tercentenary Year Messrs Croft of Oporto have made available a limited quantity of an exceptional Port of Great Age. each numbered bottle of Reserva Particular reflects the unique style and tradition of the House of Croft.
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Price: £169.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Niepoort Port, 1978
Vintage Port
"Niepoort is to Vintage Port what Krug is to Champagne. They are both small houses in a world dominated by large competitors but they are producing outstanding wines which very few can match." (James Suckling, Vintage Port).
Niepoort is a family company now in its fifth generation and presently managed by Dirk Niepoort. Despite being the second smallest shippers in the trade they are second to none in quality. Already famous for their classic tawny ports, they have now joined the ranks of the great producers of Vintage Port.
Vintage Port must be bottled within two years of the harvest date and be 100 per cent wine from that harvest. …
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Price: £249.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Souza Port, 1978
Vintage Port
Fully mature and in a good place. Balanced and elegant port with a long finish.
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Price: £129.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Taylor Fladgate, 1978
Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port
Bin soiled label
This 1978 Single Quinta from Taylor Fladgate is a great colour. 70% opaque. Bright cherries on the nose, holding well. On the palate hints of the Vargellas fire. Long aftertaste and plenty of tannins. Excellent. VWP (TC) note 08 Tasting the Port Forum - 2018.
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Price: £149.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Taylor Fladgate, 1978
Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port
High Shoulder - Stained label
This 1978 Single Quinta from Taylor Fladgate is a great colour. 70% opaque. Bright cherries on the nose, holding well. On the palate hints of the Vargellas fire. Long aftertaste and plenty of tannins. Excellent. VWP (TC) note 08 Tasting the Port Forum - 2018.
Learn more about Taylor’s
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Price: £129.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Warre's Vintage Port, 1978
Quinta da Cavadinha Vintage Port
The 1978 Warre Cavadinha is the first release from this estate after it was purchased by the Symington family in 1978. The late ripening cycle of this estate dictates the style of Cavadinha Ports; they are fresh, elegant and have very fine aromas and now form the backbone of Warre’s Vintage Port.
Old vines make up a very high proportion of the vineyard, consequently these wines are dark and concentrated, but the south easterly aspect and higher altitude results in a very elegant style. The wines from the lower vineyards that border the Pinhão River are tannic, dark purple-red and concentrated but have superb aromas of tea-rose and violets. …
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Price: £169.00
Stock: Out of Stock