Opened this for my Biden celebration dinner, with châteaubriand, pan fried mushrooms in a brandy and summer savory sauce, and broiled herbed brussels sprouts. And lots of cheering.
I think I waited too long. No surprise, the cork broke into crumbly halves and had to be finessed out. Left it open about a half an hour before decanting.
Very nice brick color and decent opacity, almost right to the rim. The nose was rather muted, but all there. On the palate the flavors were good, with predominant notes of cigar box and leather, but definitely lighter than expected. Much lighter than a Montrose has any right to be, certainly. It started breaking up by the last glass.
I note in Michael Broadbent's "The Great Vintage Wine Book" (1983) that his entry for this bottle reads in part, "...huge and tannic when first tasted in Feb. 1975. A year later, still deep, developing a deep classic nose...full of fruit and extract. Drink (up to) 2000."
I wish I'd listened to that last bit of advice. Still, events of the day made everything taste all the sweeter, and trumped any shortcomings the wine or anything else may have had (so to speak). But I don't intend to wait til the next demagogic potentate falls to open another ancient bottle.
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