I found some magnums of the wonderful 1980 Montelena Estate Cabernet with perfect fills and clean labels, but oddly, gold-yellow capsules that are somewhat corroded.
Has anyone seen gold-yellow capsules on a Montelena before? In my experience, the capsules are a burgundy-red in color, and in a 750ml format at least, even the 1980 has red capsules. But this was a long time ago and the bottles are 1.5 liters, so perhaps that’s why?
Seems unlikely that an off vintage of Montelena would be counterfeit and the corrosion does indicate some age.
Those look like they’re in really great shape. Some years ago I was a guest at some gigantic 40 person uber Montelena vertical, and I don’t think I tasted a single one that was over the hill.
I have made the same general inquiry and have been reminded the most counterfeited bill in America is the $20. If a criminal’s all-in costs were $20-25 and the mags were three figures…
If those are lead capsules then the bottles are definitely from 1980. IIRC tin and plastic capsules didn’t take over the market until the mid to late '80s.