4/19/24, 3:07 PM - I suppose it depends on how well the wine is cellared. I drink a lot of wine this old and older and am rarely disappointed. Currently, I think the 2004 Pinots are tasting great.
4/14/24, 10:13 AM - You got a bad bottle again. Maybe time to taste again considering the most recent scores in the high 90's?
1/10/24, 1:03 AM - Maybe next time, you'd like to use a wine glass? LOL
10/16/23, 10:33 AM - B.V. = Bottle Variation.... some 750ml '74s were dead in the late '80's while my 375 mls were tannic and backward.... until they weren't sometime in the late '90's.... so who knows....
4/22/23, 1:00 AM - I highly recommend the 78 Phelps Eisele if you can find a well stored bottle that you can afford. If not, you might try to find a 78 Mayacamas which Antonio Galloni gave a 100 about 9 years ago or the 78 Heitz Martha's which John Gilman gave a 97 about 6 years ago (and noted "drink between 2016 - 2050"!!!).
6/30/23, 11:28 PM - Oddly, I just noticed that according to my database, I have a 1982 Phelps Late Harvest Riesling somewhere in my cellar. Only 1 bottle tho, and no previous tasting notes....
6/30/23, 5:07 PM - Considering the comments since yours and their ratings, maybe you had a poorly stored bottle? Maybe you should withdraw your score but leave the commentary?
6/28/23, 9:29 PM - Yeah it died in just 18 months after living for 47 years because there is no such thing as bottle variation, right?
5/29/23, 6:34 AM - I have to agree. I like my CdP older, especially Rayas. I had the 1985 when it was ten years old. It showed nothing. I sings now!
11/30/22, 8:18 AM - FYI - It's called an Ah-so wine opener...https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&q=ah+so+wine+opener&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
9/10/22, 1:23 PM - Maybe your score was a bit low considering your write up?
6/28/22, 4:29 AM - Sangiovese ???
11/18/21, 11:26 PM - Maybe you need to try this wine again? Maybe you had a poorly stored bottled because yours seems to be the minority opinion and because of how Winesearcher's average weight system works, your score seems to be holding down what the average they report to 88.
11/19/21, 10:55 AM - Well technically, you rated a bottle unless you had multiple bottles from multiple sources, you should know the old saying: "There are no great wines, only great bottles." It appears that almost everyone else on CT has a different opinion of the 72 Martha's. Just suggesting maybe you had a bottle that was improperly stored at one point? As for the vintage, hard to necessarily tell a wine by it's vintage. In 71, Joe declassified his Martha's because of low quality but the 71 Ridge Eisele is legendary! Maybe Joe learned from whatever happened to him in 71? And then there is this John Gilman review of the regular "Joe"... his 1972 Napa Cab...91 JG."This was the first time I have had the pleasure to drink a bottle of the Napa bottling from Joe Heitz from the 1972 vintage, and given the fair bit of mintiness here on the nose, I am guessing that perhaps this was one of those tail end of the vintage bottlings that might have been stretched with a bit of Martha’s Vineyard. The superb nose offers up a mature and vibrant blend of red and black cherries, Rutherford dust, petroleum jelly, a touch of cherry skin, gentle notes of chipotles and a nice touch of mintiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and à point, with superb complexity, melted tannins, bright acids and excellent grip and focus on the long and suave finish. A beautiful bottle of old school Napa cabernet sauvignon that is still at its zenith. John Gilman, View From the Cellar #58, Aug 2015
11/19/21, 11:35 AM - Looks like I amended my reply after your latest post but it seems you wouldn't care what John Gilman had to say anyway. I am not questioning that you had a tired wine, only that you seem to judge that wine in total by tasting only one bottle.I had an experience in the late 80's with the 1974 B.V. Georges De Latour. Several people at the Winebox in Canoga Park opened their 750ml bottles that were over the hill yet every 375 ml bottle that I opened showed the wine to be highly structured with years ago. This was everyone's opinion, not just mine!PS - Since you don't place stock in anyone else's review, why should I bother to tell you about my 1972 Martha's experience? You'll note that I seldom post reviews here.... I am not that good a verbalizing my experiences in the manner of most wine reviewers and I find it taxing to take notes during dinner.
11/19/21, 11:50 AM - Again, I cannot seem to get you to understand my point. I am not questioning your opinion of that particular bottle and I do read your reviews and find I mainly agree but when tasting older bottles of wine, I have found from over 50 years of tasting, that the bottle is what it is.... and another bottle of the exact same wine can be totally different.... much of it depends on how the wine was stored especially when the bottle is over 20 years old. But that is not all that can make a difference. I have worked in wineries so I know about bottling too and wine can come from different vats and different barrels that have never been mixed.... and so was the beginning of the OFS Dry Creek labeling when the winemaker found barrels that were much better than the rest..... as one example.
11/19/21, 12:56 PM - I don't have to buy any, I still have 2 left in the cellar plus 2 "regular Joe's" but you know it is OK to generalize from a large sample that something might be bad.... but not from a single sample.... that was re-enforced by the wine related statistics class I had at UC Davis when I got my degree in enology. It's also why the CDC conducts multitudes of tests before approving a drug or vaccine.... but hey go ahead and think what you want, it's a free country after all,,,,,PS Winesearcher average price is over $1600.... guess there are a lot of saps out there....
9/2/20, 4:51 PM - Maybe not but I had close to a case, only 3 left, it was hard to resist from the start. My last note May 1999 - 94! Always and still a winner! I'm not much of a wine writer so don't post much.
8/11/19, 4:35 PM - Hi Pat - Just noticed a bottle for sale on Winebid is up to $550. Bidding closes tonight. It will be interesting to see what it goes for. I have 3 bottles in far better condition in my cellar... or at least the last time I looked at them they were. Hope to open my on-line wine store this fall... It will be called Legacy Wines of Sonoma or similar based on the marginal chance that particular fictional name is taken. - Randy
5/4/19, 9:34 PM - Tell me Doolittle, how are the Dodgers doing? ..... They were pretty good back in '74...
9/6/18, 4:53 PM - Sounds to me to be somewhat similar to most of the 1970-1979 (esp. the 79) Martha's I tasted during the 70's - 80's... so maybe, just maybe Gilman is more on the right track?.... the 78 just started to show itself off when it was 20 years old!... and yes the mint/eucalyptus usually shows better with air or when Martha's is older...
9/12/18, 4:43 PM - Yeah....there are no great wines... only great bottles... that said, it could be that older cab collectors didn't properly store their bottles due to being new to collecting while older Bordeaux collectors were already into the temp and humidity thing.... with that said.... in the late 80's, a friend of mine opened up about 20, 1978 2nd, 3rd growth Bordeaux and was terribly disappointed with most of them.... off aromas and flavors and little fruit... In 1998, I put on about a 40 bottle tasting of the 1978 Cabs.... almost all of the Napa Valley cabs were in the acceptable to great range with fruit remaining.... other places did not fair so well.... so who knows... and yeah, it is all anecdotal but I've yet to be disappointed with an old bottle of Martha's.... knock on wood....
8/18/18, 11:04 PM - Sounds like Pax to me... maybe you'll try some of his wine again?
8/17/18, 8:41 PM - Noting your moniker, have traded bids with you on Brentwood.... have you had this before or since? Do you have any in your cellar? Just curious... and the condition of the bottle you had then, if you remember...?
6/22/18, 12:59 PM - Just bought a 5L based on the 3 descriptions on Cellar Tracker.... just wondering about your score though.... it doesn't seem to match your description of the wine... could you have meant 98 points?
7/3/17, 10:38 AM - Have you tried the other bottle yet? If so please post!
6/18/18, 2:40 PM - Sorry didn't see your post until now when cleaning out my e-mail.... no it wasn't me... have none in my cellar.... tried to get some 2005 but someone outbid me at the last second... weird because it was sitting there on winebid for about a month.... but on another note... got 3 bottles of 2007 Chen Bleu - Heloise - Vaucluse at a different auction for $20 per bottle... RP 94... tried a bottle.... certainly at least a 94! Look out for some! $90+ per bottle retail.....
3/23/15, 4:37 PM - That was my bottle... was the last one as well.... have been looking for more ever since.... with no luck... so far no other Sorrel has matched this bottle... too bad.... the 80 Le Meal is just a shadow of this wine... still waiting on the 88, 89 & 90 Le Greals to show something more! PS - I miss Deuce...
3/27/15, 1:35 AM - Still here in Sonoma.... no plans to ever move....Now retired.... What are you up to?
1/4/14, 8:13 AM - No, I have not tasted the 1999 again altho my records now show that I have two bottles left... I did however try the 2000 (4 left) in August 2011, my notes read: "Developed but not complex, still simple CdR." If my memory serves me correct, I believe the 99 had a bit more tannin than the 2000, so it is probably still OK. I hope this helps. Please post if you try it.
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