This bottle of Sterling Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1975 had been
properly stored since shortly after release, the fill was still in the
lower neck, and the cork was sound.

The color is still extremely dark. Only using a very bright light, can
you detect a bit of age around the rim. There is very intense cassis,
with hints of other dark fruits and cedar along with hints of mixed
herbs and spices. There is a bit of oak, but the huge body of this wine
nearly overwhelms the oak, even after 30+ years. There still is tannin
that is mouth coating, but it is now quite soft. There is enough acid,
but not excessive as in some of the very large 70s cabs. The texture is
nearly thick in feel. The alcohol, however, is not excessive and hot,
and is listed as 12% on the bottle. The balance is very good for such a
highly extracted wine, and the wine is easy to drink alone or with food
despite the huge body. The finish is quite long. This wine could last
quite a bit longer, and I detected no oxidation or anything else that
would indicate that the end is near. True, this wine is a bit of a
monster, but it is a very friendly monster.

On 16 Apr 2006 21:06:20 -0700, "cwdjrxyz" >
wrote:

>This bottle of Sterling Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1975 had been
>properly stored since shortly after release, the fill was still in the
>lower neck, and the cork was sound.
>
>The color is still extremely dark. Only using a very bright light, can
>you detect a bit of age around the rim. There is very intense cassis,
>with hints of other dark fruits and cedar along with hints of mixed
>herbs and spices. There is a bit of oak, but the huge body of this wine
>nearly overwhelms the oak, even after 30+ years. There still is tannin
>that is mouth coating, but it is now quite soft. There is enough acid,
>but not excessive as in some of the very large 70s cabs. The texture is
>nearly thick in feel. The alcohol, however, is not excessive and hot,
>and is listed as 12% on the bottle. The balance is very good for such a
>highly extracted wine, and the wine is easy to drink alone or with food
>despite the huge body. The finish is quite long. This wine could last
>quite a bit longer, and I detected no oxidation or anything else that
>would indicate that the end is near. True, this wine is a bit of a
>monster, but it is a very friendly monster.

That's amazing. I've been picking up the occasional bottle of Sterling
Reserve in a number of varietals for immediate drinking and found it
excellent. The Cab '03 is very nice for the price point (about $15
here in TX), and the Sauvignon Blanc compares quite nicely with
anything I've had recently--no cat pee, thank you. But a bit of
grapefruit, white peach and some vanilla on the finish.

The Chardonnay is, heaven forbid, one of those "buttery" styles that I
much prefer to the more citrus versions.

Really amazes me that the Sterling Cab would hold up for 30 years--I'm
assuming that Sterling has evolved from a more premium producer to a
much larger mass-market vintner.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

IIRC Sterling was bought from Ric Foreman et al sometime before 1980, they
were bought by Coke or Pepsi and were part of a group also owning Monterey
Vineyards. The idea then was Sterling for the upscale market, Monterey for
the masses.

There was a shift in focus after the buy out. Before the main attraction
was a first class winemaker and after the main attraction was the tramway
and the winery itself. I was given a tour by John Thoreen, a wine educator,
hired to impress upon cork-dorks like me that there would be no loss of
quality with Foreman's departure and imposition of a cost/benefit
consciousness. I remember Thoreen telling me the wine people thought some
bottling inferior not worthy of Sterling and the corporate crew(over their
number cruncher's objection) agreed. I was shown the unreleased wine. I'm
sure they either went to Monterey or other wineries in the area after the
corporation made its point.

"Ed Rasimus" > wrote in message
...
> On 16 Apr 2006 21:06:20 -0700, "cwdjrxyz" >
> wrote:
>
> >This bottle of Sterling Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1975 had been
> >properly stored since shortly after release, the fill was still in the
> >lower neck, and the cork was sound.
> >
> >The color is still extremely dark. Only using a very bright light, can
> >you detect a bit of age around the rim. There is very intense cassis,
> >with hints of other dark fruits and cedar along with hints of mixed
> >herbs and spices. There is a bit of oak, but the huge body of this wine
> >nearly overwhelms the oak, even after 30+ years. There still is tannin
> >that is mouth coating, but it is now quite soft. There is enough acid,
> >but not excessive as in some of the very large 70s cabs. The texture is
> >nearly thick in feel. The alcohol, however, is not excessive and hot,
> >and is listed as 12% on the bottle. The balance is very good for such a
> >highly extracted wine, and the wine is easy to drink alone or with food
> >despite the huge body. The finish is quite long. This wine could last
> >quite a bit longer, and I detected no oxidation or anything else that
> >would indicate that the end is near. True, this wine is a bit of a
> >monster, but it is a very friendly monster.
>
> That's amazing. I've been picking up the occasional bottle of Sterling
> Reserve in a number of varietals for immediate drinking and found it
> excellent. The Cab '03 is very nice for the price point (about $15
> here in TX), and the Sauvignon Blanc compares quite nicely with
> anything I've had recently--no cat pee, thank you. But a bit of
> grapefruit, white peach and some vanilla on the finish.
>
> The Chardonnay is, heaven forbid, one of those "buttery" styles that I
> much prefer to the more citrus versions.
>
> Really amazes me that the Sterling Cab would hold up for 30 years--I'm
> assuming that Sterling has evolved from a more premium producer to a
> much larger mass-market vintner.
>
>
> Ed Rasimus
> Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
> "When Thunder Rolled"
> www.thunderchief.org
> www.thundertales.blogspot.com