The wine was Ridge 1973 California Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello, estate grown, bottled Oct. 1975, 12.8% alcohol by volume. Note the label name for Monte Bello wines is somewhat different for more recent vintages. The wine was bought shortly after release and properly stored by me. The fill was very low neck, and there were no cork or other issues. The cork still sealed well and came out in one piece.
The wine is still very deep in color and you need a bright light to notice a little age showing around the rim. The wine is fully mature, but likely will hold fairly well for at least several more years. The bouquet and taste both are very intense and complex, and the finish is very long. There is enough acid. Both bouquet and taste are a complex mix of cassis and mixed dark stone fruit with hints of spice and herbs. The texture has a velvet-like quality, the sort of thing Broadbent has described as an iron fist in a velvet glove. It reminds me more of a Ch. Petrus than Ch. Latour in this respect, although the taste and bouquet are typical Cabernet Sauvignon. Many of the best mountain CSs in California, including most Ridge, are more Latour like than Petrus like in texture to me. And the alcohol content is only
12.8%, rather unusual for 70s top CSs. Some from that era were 14% and even more.