I was expecting the 1938 Chateau Pichon-Lalande to be dead as a dodo, but what do you know? This bottle had spent its entire life in a single cellar and I was seated next to the merchant that had acquired it, so provenance was sound. Firstly, it has a healthy clear color. The nose is decayed, but respectable with dried herbs and antique mahogany bureau scents that only oxidize after around 30 minutes. The palate is light and perhaps not as interesting as the aromatics, although there is a nice touch of tangy marmalade towards the finish. If it is a sign of anything, I noticed that everyone finished their glasses of this wine. Maybe a few decades after its peak, but I finished my glass and so it fulfilled its raison d'être. Tasted June 2014.