1974 Heitz Cellar "Martha's Vineyard" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5L)

“I had this wine twice over a period of thirty days, rating it an astounding 99 and 98 points. A monumental California Cabernet Sauvignon, it appears to have approached its plateau of maturity but should easily last for 20-25 more years. There is no rust, amber, or brown to the saturated dark purple color. The spectacular, huge, Mouton-Rothschild-like nose of mint, cassis, lead pencil, and toast is remarkably youthful. Staggeringly concentrated, this full-bodied, super-rich wine possesses moderate tannin, fresh, lively acidity, and a blockbuster, rich, fleshy finish. This is a monumental effort! (RP)” (08/1994)

“The 1974 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard has long been a Napa Valley icon. For those who have not tasted it, this bottle shows why. Still vibrant and poised, the 1974 offers up red cherry fruit, dried herbs, sage, licorice and blood orange, all driven by bright acids that suggest ageability from this point on will be determined by storage and corks, as the wine itself is pretty near immortal. (AG)” (02/2023)

“The 1974 Heitz “Martha’s Vineyard” is rightfully one of the most famous wines ever produced in the history of California, and the wine continues to cruise along beautifully at age forty-three. The bouquet is very deep and impressively complex, soaring from the glass in a blaze of cherries, blood orange, plenty of eucalyptus, spice elements, grilled venison, lovely soil tones, cigar wrapper and hints of petroleum jelly in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and plush at the core, with great focus and grip, ripe, melting tannins, tangy acids and outstanding balance on the very long and complex finish. This was the first vintage that David Heitz made the wine, as his father Joe was in the hospital with a bad back injury during the harvest (David actually would make daily trips to the hospital with various samples so that Joe could taste how things were progressing in the cellars in ’74), and he certainly hit the ground running! A legendary wine.” (09/2017)

“The iconic 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard showed well, with a fully mature, beautifully balanced, elegant style that carried incredible complexity in its minty darker fruits, eucalyptus, spice, and cedary aromas and flavors. There’s a kiss of volatile acidity that gives the wine plenty of lift, it’s medium to full-bodied, and is a classy, resolved, elegant wine that should be drunk up. (JD)” (02/2020)