Since a couple of responses in this said CalCabs would be doa, I switched plans for my mystery bottle at a Cal Cab tasting last night and brought '71 Sterling instead of ‘74. Blind I think it got approval all around table.
At end of night (most wines weren’t blind) we did 3/2/1 voting and it came in 3rd, after 76 & 91 Martha’s (ahead of good bottles including 77 & 84 Marthas’, 77 Montelena, 83 Dunn Howell). So I wouldn’t count out well stored modest CalCabs (this is under $50 at auction). Agree Montebello is great, even better than Ridge Eisele, but not in range of OP.
So long as we’re discussing 1971 Cal Cabs while the price is astronomical now the Mayacamas has always been superlative.
K&L won’t ship to Illinois - but if anyone else (that lives in a state they will ship to) is interested in this lot at K&L auctions (starting bid of $260) I would be happy to split it with you. You would need to pay for the lot, and then I would pay for you to ship me 2 bottles. It’s not the only '71 I would get, but seems a pretty reasonable thing to try for $75 a bottle.
I’m also '71er and a sucker for birth year wines. My first question is, have you tried wines this old? Mature wines are not everyone’s cup of tea; unless perhaps you’re spending big bucks for a super top notch bottle, you should expect to have predominantly tertiary aromas and flavors (i.e., not much fruit) and perhaps a bit of acetic/volatile acid. (There’s a saucy André Tchelistcheff quote regarding old wines, which I won’t quote lest I offend, but it seems rather on point.) Strawberries macerated in balsamic is a common descriptor for me for many aged Baroli, for example. Personally, I like these sorts of flavor profiles (though it’s important to drink such wines with food), but my wife would tend to prefer a fresh Ch. Latour to a '66 (if we drank Ch. Latour, anyway). If you’re not inclined to like mature red wines on this basis, then I’d strongly recommend considering Sauternes, German auslese (or sweeter – JJ Buckley has some), a Huet Vouvray, or Quinta do Noval’s Colheita.
In terms of sourcing, I second the recommendation of Chambers St. because (i) they are one of the very few who guarantee their old bottles; and (ii) if you’re buying a few special bottles, you can throw in some daily drinkers to make a case and get a 10% discount. Your other good option would be to look at sourcing in Europe, where there tends to be better availability and better provenance, even if you’ll need to have someone haul your bottles back to the USA. My WOTY last year was probably a 1971 Brane Cantenac that I picked up for around $36 all-in on a French auction site; objectively speaking it wasn’t actually the best wine I drank last year, but it was still quite good (I pegged it as 92 points) and a phenomenal bargain.
I’ve never had 30 year old wine - let alone 50 year old wine. Will I like it? I don’t know. I’m really getting it for the novelty, rather than thinking I’m finding my new long-term favorite. 
I just ordered 1/2 dozen bottles of random 1971 Bordeaux from chateau.com in France. (for an average of around $50, including the trans-Atlantic shipping, so I don’t have high hopes of a spectacular wine - but decent will be OK)
We don’t normally like sweet wines - other than an occasional Riesling - so I probably should consider some old Rieslings. Roger from No Limit Fine Wines just sent me a preview list of a large group of '71 Rieslings they are getting in. No prices on the list, so I have no idea what the cost will be. I don’t know anything about old Riesling. What should I expect for taste - are they still sweet?
I am not against all 1971 Cal Cabs as can be interpreted, it is just in the desired price range promising possibilities are rather limited.
Here is a PSA for other 1971ers which I first PMd to Todd and he decided against it; there is a 1971 Mondavi Napa which gets decent CT reviews at Wine Consigners in LA for $149
Good call on the 1971 Sterling, if you can find it.
I must say that ‘71 Sterling was showing unexpectedly really well. I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing Dale!
So much ado about nothing … ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
I’m going to keep looking - this was just kind of an experiment, so I can try an aged Bordeaux when they arrive, and see if I actually like them. Also to see how international shipping goes.
Also, thanks Richard for pointing out the Wine Consignors site - they actually have quite a few vintage wines.
71 JJ Prum WS Auslese GK. Was lucky to have just picked up a bottle last month.