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A 1974 Napa Retrospective
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Tasted Friday, February 2, 2024 by G_H with 83 views
Flight 1 (7 Notes)
Flight 2 (6 Notes)
1974 Christian Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
A fine example that lesser known Napa producers from the great vintages in the 60s and 70s are often worth the gamble, if the level is great.
Tobacco, leather, red berries, very enjoyable.Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1974 Inglenook Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cask D-1 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Between 1969 and 1974 Inglenook experimented with different lots and released them as part of their limited cask series. As far as I understand they experimented with picking dates and elevage. But what exactly each limited cask meant seems to be lost, as I have found no record of that anywhere. And neither did other people around the table, even at the winery itself apparently.
This particular bottle showed quite well for the first minute in the glass and would probably have merited a rating in the mid-90s would it not have deteriorated that quickly. It had some candied sugar, caramel, tobacco and unsmoked cigars. Unfortunately this quickly developed into the tawny port territory.Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1974 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Mountain Flawed
USA, California
Out of magnum, unfortunately completely dead due to an issue with the bottle. What a shame.
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1974 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
Very clean and bright red fruit and berries, elegant and very long. Delicious!
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1974 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
As the volcanic hill, this had a cristal-clear red fruit nose was elegant and had a good length, but in comparison this was quite light-bodied and lacked the breath and intensity of the volcanic hill
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1974 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Fully mature but still some fruit left within the tertiary notes, red berries, nice length.
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Flight 3 (7 Notes)
1974 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 96 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Beautiful nose that has an intriquing mix of floral notes and an intense dark black fruit with some super ripe black cherries. What a fantastic nose.
The palate backs this up with a dense, velvety body and a long finish.Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1974 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Unfortunately a bottle that was deeply flawed. Not in the infamous Heitz way or corked but just very off. Such a shame.
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1974 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 97 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
After the shock of a corked bottle, the host miraculously had another bottle appear. Amazing generosity, thank you!
This had the hallmark Martha notes, was dense and long and just a pleasure to drink.
Having been lucky enough to taste the 1975 twice lately, it starts becoming quite clear, that the 1975 has now overtaken the 1974 and still has a lot more life ahead of it, whereas I would drink up the 1974 bottles slowly (if you have any and can afford not to sell them).Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1974 Joseph Phelps Insignia 98 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Incredibly dense and opulent nose, black fruit, plums, soy sauce, malt, caramel, dense and long. A stunner!
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1974 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
This was another example of a "regular" Napa Cab performing really well. Four-fruit jam, violets in the expressive and sexy nose. Very long!
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1974 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
This had a beautiful color but was badly corked.
The wine behind the cork was monumental, but the cork matched that level of intensity...Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1974 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Espresso, coffee liqueur, whisky smoke, dense, opulent and long.
With its long history, the consistently great winemaking and the many incredible wines they made, it's inexplicable to me why Mount Eden does not get more attention.Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
Flight 4 (4 Notes)
1974 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 96 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Outstanding. Great mix of dried herbs, savory notes and black berries.
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1974 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
Not corked but completely gone with intense acetone notes
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1974 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
This bottle smelled more like nail polish remover than wine
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1974 Inglenook Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 82 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Dark chocolate, molasses, still drinkable but definitely over the hill
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Flight 5 (1 Note)
1974 Heitz Cellar Angelica
USA, California
A curiosity. Very sweet and slightly alcoholic, but quite enjoyable for fans of the style
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1974 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
This was another example, that the "regular" Napa cab is not much behind the Reserve bottling. Red berries, some tobacco, great balance and very clear red fruit.
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1974 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 96 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
While the regular mondavi was showing well right out of the bottle, this needed 10 minutes or so in the glass to come to life. Red berries, some dried herbs, black tea, eucalyptus and mint. Love this style!
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1974 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Alexander Valley 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
This was a distance away from the great bottles of Simi Reserve 1974. It was still a decent wine with some red fruit, barley and a good length, but it lacked the depth, layers and body of great bottles.
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1974 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosché
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
I enjoyed this wine much more than other people around the table. Consensus was, that this was doa. I liked the malty-caramel notes and it was quite full bodied and long in the palate. But I concede that this was probably more my personal taste that let me enjoy this.
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1974 Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 87 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
While still drinkable, this was fairly inexpressive on the nose, slightly cool with some tobacco and leather.
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1974 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
From a 0.75l bottle this showed how I expected it to. Towards the end of its maturity, irish moss, chocolate, nice sweetness and a good length, but should be drunk up.
The 5 Liter that was also opened told a very different story and was still incredibly youthful.
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1974 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 96 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
From a 5 Liter bottle, this was one of the stars of the night for me.
The color alone showed us that we would be experiencing a different animal. While the regular bottle had clear amber and brick edges, this had a dark purple and very intense color. In the nose it was young, sexy and fruit driven with a hint of eucalyptus. Great body and long finish. What a delight!
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