May 1, 2024 - 23x California 1974: Do the legendary 1974s still hold up? The answer is a resounding YES, and not just for one or two top wines, but across the board. These best wines showed incredible complexity, with still vibrant fruit cores perfectly complemented by layers upon layers of tertiary aromas, a fully intact structural frame, stature, poise, and freshness. While many of these wines should continue to age well, I don't expect them to get any better than they are now. The top wines in the tasting were the Mondavi Cabernet and the Phelps Insignia (both 97pts), the Mondavi Reserve and the Mount Eden (both 96pts), and the Ridge Monte Bello (95pts). Many more wines scored in the 90-94 point range. I'm convinced that many wines would have scored even higher in a different tasting setting, where you can follow the wine over the course of an evening. Only 5 of the 24 bottles showed signs of weakness, with 1 of those already oxidized, but given the substance that could be tasted underneath, this is more likely due to weak corks or poor storage than anything nature delivered this year. All the wines had very good fill levels and had been quickly double decanted before tasting to remove the sediment.
TN: This was the only fully oxidized wine in the tasting.
February 2, 2024 - A 1974 Napa Retrospective (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zürich): Not corked but completely gone with intense acetone notes
November 5, 2021 - High neck fill
Crystal clear med light ruby with an aged rim
This particular bottle was perfectly stored since release.
Really lovely. Completely Cali and completely resolved in terms of tannins, oak.
A huge amalgamation of cherry, watermelon, tomato compote, perfect balance, with and herbal, sage, stem.
Damn near perfect
November 8, 2020 - This took 30 minutes to wake up. A good, but not great, Cabernet from 1974. Had plenty of dried tobacco and dried spice box and still rich fruit, just a little less intense, perfumed and intense as other producers / bottles from this great Napa vintage.
September 27, 2014 - Old Wine Offline; 9/26/2014-9/27/2014 (The Room Off the Patio at Ruth's Chris, and My House): Clear, light garnet color, orange at the rim. Not much fruit here, save for a bit of raisiny tawniness, but the overall impression was clean and elegant, quite pleasant in fact.
October 8, 2013 - Perfectly stored. Drank very well, fruit is still present but on its last leg. Plum, black cherry, touch of smoke, no edges whatsoever.
June 27, 2011 - this bottle was a perfect representation of a fully mature old bordeaux. tannins almost fully resolvd very nice indeed.
May 31, 2011 - at first sort of a strange taste then it improved but clearly on a downward path. I still enjoyed it but my wine friend thought it had lost its fruit-not sure i agreed with that.