Two recent bottles of the 1969 have been fully mature, but they exhibited no signs of losing their fruit and falling apart. The wine reveals a healthy dark ruby color with light amber at the edge. The nose offers straightforward but intense aromas of sweet oak and jammy fruit. It is medium to full-bodied, with good freshness, a mouthfilling chewiness as well as moderate tannin in the finish. This well-structured, excellent B.V. Private Reserve should continue to drink well for another decade. It is less spectacular, but also less fragile than the super-ripe 1970.