High shoulder, not so bad for 39 years, I had seen worse. Capsule was visibly worn, a sign of ??? I became concerned; the capsule was bonded to the bottle. Unpeeling it revealed seepage and corrosion, and - mold. The cork came out about 2/3 with the waiter's friend before collapsing into bits. Somewhere in the debris branded bits of cork revealed "POM" and "197". So, it might be oxidized and baked, but at least it was genuine. I was certain that I had waited too long to drink it. There was a coarse sediment. I resisted the urge to decant. Experience with the 1945 and 1964 Petrus had taught me - at great cost, that these are delicate wines. Decantation kills.I poured a few drops into my smallest Riedel Sommelier. It was their Sauvignon Blanc glass, sometimes marketed for "mature Bordeaux". At first, it felt strange drinking red wine from what was clearly a glass for white. I sipped. No trichloroanisole, no volatile acidity, not baked. I was cautiously optimistic. Some tertiary flavors were present, wet mossy earth, tea? I inserted a rubber cork and packed it up with the glasses for the trip to the BYOB restaurant. Then it hit me -Fruit. I swallowed it 30 seconds ago, but these flavors kept going. This wine was alive.
At the restaurant, the wine performed brilliantly. It was surprisingly robust, while also being delicate and balanced. This was not a "big" wine, but it was absolutely a steak wine. It screamed steak. It made my halibut taste like steak. The small glasses were the right choice. If you have 1970 Petrus, it won't improve -drink it up.
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