It was a different world in 1977

In their second anniversay issue Wine and Spirit Buying Guide magazine reviewed red wine offered in casks and flagons. This was the time when the newly invented "bag in a box"was still struggling with problems of leaking and oxidisation.
The panel tasted 110 wines - 74 flagons and 36 casks.
They culled this down to just 30 flagons and just 9 casks that they considered worthy of reviewing.

The top wines were: Penfolds Rose, Orlando Coolabah Burgundy, dÁrenberg Dry Red  and Tyrrells Hunter River Dry Red flagons along with the Orlando Coolabah Rougolais cask. It was the time when it was sadly acceptable to label Australian wines claret and burgundy while      shiraz was regularly called Hermitage



I love their conclusion
"The moral seems to be - buy casks for everyday drinking but buy carefully, and buy flagons whenever the situation allows"