Decanted by the host after having been set upright for ≈1 wk

N: INITIAL funk but with notes of blood & earth underneath, ripe berries & definitely pyrazines (bell peppers?) also underneath; Over time, hints of bacon also emerg. The funk popped in & out with addt'l swirling/air, & was for me likely a +.

P: LM, poss Med, body; VERY *nice*, ALMOST swtish frt met by just a BIT of astringent pucker, though that bit IS initially (& but briefly) on the PUCKERISH side. The process stays within hailing distance of the init frt as it SEAMLESSLY evolves into a VERY LONG, BALANCED finish that is not at ALL "tired", & could EASILY accompany entrees. Consensus was that this SHOULD make its 50th without difficulty, & there was some speculation it will still be alive 'n kickin' ALL the way through the 2020s! [1 of the tasters had this previously, feeling his bottle was > swt & < "vegetal" than this one. The host later opined this bottle MAY have been somewhat < advanced, & that, in time, WOULD show > swtness.] Also, towards the very end there were multiple opinions that this bottle eventually showed a "mature", well integrated (unobjectionable) Brett on the N, which would explain the touch 'n go funkiness I described above. 12% ABV; My Exceptional-/Full Exceptional (96-100/100 using that metric). 92+ pts RJonWine, 92 John Gilman (4x, Sep/Oct '17 the most recent), & 19.5/20 Jancis Robinson (Hunt, 10/31/12), the highest scoring wine from that publication I've ever actually TASTED.

Decanted, poured soon thereafter

From the back of the bottle: "We set aside a limited amount for aging in 60 gal FR oak barrels."

N: RIPE, raisiny berries with notes of eucalyptus & undertones of earth, POSS some choc? With addt'l air/swirling, pyrazines coming on?

P: Med body; RNDISH entry with NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent PUCKER which DOES, seamlessly, *quite* work itself out by the LONG, balanced finish with TANGY/swtness to the relatively few, firming, very, VERY fine tannins. There were some comments that this was reminiscent of what one might anticipate from an AU Shiraz or CA Zin, the consensus being that was @ its peak if not, in fact, a bit beyond: I.e., several noted some oxidation. 13.0% ABV; My EXC/EXC+, trending towards the higher IF one desires a RIPE style without massive ABV.

Note: A *very* different wine than the '69 (cf. my TN of 10/25/19), speculation being that the vyds used were no longer of the same quality because of financial issues suffered by Peter Mondavi.

Popped 'n poured

N: Initial funk which blows off fairly quickly to notes of menthol & poss smoke

P: Med, poss LM, body; Very NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which stays in contact with the init frt as it SEAMLESSLY transitions into a very LONG, balanced finish with a bitter/SWT (choc?) tinge to the still notable DUSTY tannins. Would work now with food (particularly with decanting), but NEEDS/deserves through '23, I'm guessing, poss >, then should make its 35th. IMPRESSIVE stuff! 14.1% ABV; My EXC+/Exceptional- (94-97/100 using that metric). 95 pts WA (12/23/94), and 92 ea WS (12/15/95) & Jeff Leve (9/7/13).

[As of early Nov '19, wine-searcher still shows 1 source @ $150].