Perfectly balanced. Light red fruit, graphite, forest floor. Bold and fresh, but drier than expected. Eucalyptus and minty notes not present. @Pinotlui guessed Napa Cab from the 70s and Raymond guessed right bank Bordeaux. Nice!
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Purchased at auction, this bottle was in great condition with a perfect cork. It had a beautiful rich ruby color with a wide opaque rim in the glass. Refined nose of berry, plum, and some stewed fruit. The taste was a strong sweet cherry and buttery palette, reminiscent of cherry pie, and had no hint of the age or oxidation. The finish was long with a light holiday spice notes. The tannins were gone but did not leave the wine lacking. This bottle was drinking amazingly, and had no sediment to the last drop.
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Heitz MV vs Dominus: 1983/1987/1991. Heitz Martha's won the battle (95.3 pts average vs 93.7pts for Dominus) thanks to more complexity and rounder, completer structural frames. My WOTN was the 1983 MV (rated 97 pts) thanks to an ever changing, highly complex aroma play, with a superb, elegant structure. In its first few years, Dominus (maiden vintage 1983) produced very classically shaped Bordeaux blends, great but often a bit square and with some hard edges. 1983/87 were no exception. In the 90s that changed (proved here by a superb 1991). All in all, lots of excellent wines and all worth chasing.
TN: At first a bit oxidative and rather unpleasant but luckily that blew off after a few minutes. With time more precise and clean with dried fruit, and malty notes, some chocolate and herbs. With more time, black fruit underneath. Very intriguing. On the palate very fresh, very round and harmonious, so creamy and yet weightless and light. Full dark berry core, a with some dried but also fresh and zesty fruit, mostly dark berries, a clear and signature minty component, beautiful malty and some herbal touches. Towards the end of the glass, suddenly more milk chocolate and coffee notes came forward. Quite complex, changing with every sip. Wow. The wine got fresher and more vivid by the minute. Lots of tension, superb velvety tannins, good acidity, lots of zest, very harmonious, elegant and round and with a long finish. Very complete wine. 97+ pts and one of the best 1983s I’ve ever had.
Decanting: This bottle would have needed an hour+ in the decanter.
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Very clean nose, right after opening the bottle. The wine developed nice mint and eucalyptus notes with some dried fruit and some autumn forest notes. This bottle was a bit on the lighter side, but beautifully elegant and the clean Martha's notes were a delight!
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Wine Workshop: Heitz Martha's Vineyard (The Dutch): Another wine that was a bit different and maybe most of the difference is the fruit is really more in the dried style and the wine as a whole comes across as a bit more savory. Dried meats and a bit of soy sauce and a hint of forest floor. Not quite at the level as some of the others, but again still a good wine.
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Drank side-by-side with an 84' Martha's vineyard. By comparison, the 83' was a bit dead and far less expressive. Lacked the aromatics and eucalyptus notes so present in the 84'. Still a fun wine to drink, but I thought the 84' was special.
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Purchased directly from Heitz this year. Perfect cork with not a trace of leakage, so this is as well-stored as this wine can be.
Relatively youthful color; a pleasing garnet but with almost no trace of age around the edges.
Elegant nose of strawberries, mushroom and mint. Traces of soy and ash. Occasionally the mint overwhelms what little fruit is left, but after a while it settles down and reveals a complex array of scents.
Initially worryingly lean, and lacking on the midpalate, but after half an hour or so it fills out a bit. Nice long finish, tannins are done, but the acidity gives it a little structure still.
Overall though the elegant and complex nose isn't matched by the taste which, though not lacking in concentration, doesn't feel as generous or sumptuous as a truly great Heitz.
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Decanted and consumed over 3 hours. Dark black red color. Perfect cork, flexible and only showing 1/4 inch of staining. Spicy eucalyptus and cassis infused nose. A little musty at first, but it blew off. The palate is lean and classic, showing medium structure, silky with a good dose of acid. Great food wine, balanced and elegant.
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This was a complicated tasting. The cork turned to dust despite a very coordinated effort to remove it in tact. Initial notes were musty forest floor and the characteristic eucalyptus of Martha’s. We decanted for an hour and tried again. The wine opened up a great deal but still was lacking the complexity I would expect for a wine of this age. Definitely on the way down and not worth the money I spent for it at auction.
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PWTG Vertical Flight of Heitz Martha's (83, 84, 85 AND 86) Group's #4 My #4 The nose is showing some stewed tired fruit, but you still get the telltale eucalyptus notes that are the signature of this wine. The palate shows better than the nose, rich, young and lithe with some interesting brown sugar components to balance the cassis and red fruit flavors.
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Best 83 Cali Cab I've ever had. Perfectly mature now. Not quite up to the 82 we had beside it but very impressive. Not as hard and rustic as most other 83
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This wine was unbelievable considering its age. The color garnet red , the cork barely showed age , and after an hour of decanting it still had sugar and legs in the glass.
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Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Some thought this bottle might have been flawed but I think it was just rather mature and possibly tired. Definitely had a eucalyptus and mint element on the nose, but somewhat short and simple on palate.
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Drk red suggesting oxidation;strawberry/rhubarb, nail polish, sl leathery aroma's;very soft mouthfeel, tannins gone, pipe tobacco, red currant and golden raisin flavors; dry, dusty finish, med long. No hint of usual minty character. Fading into old age and becoming generic"old" wine.Cork was sound, only stained 1/4" from bottom
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4/18/2024 - Satoshi Nakamoto Likes this wine: 93 Points
Perfectly balanced. Light red fruit, graphite, forest floor. Bold and fresh, but drier than expected. Eucalyptus and minty notes not present. @Pinotlui guessed Napa Cab from the 70s and Raymond guessed right bank Bordeaux. Nice!
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9/28/2023 - Robert N's Wine Likes this wine: 97 Points
Purchased at auction, this bottle was in great condition with a perfect cork. It had a beautiful rich ruby color with a wide opaque rim in the glass. Refined nose of berry, plum, and some stewed fruit. The taste was a strong sweet cherry and buttery palette, reminiscent of cherry pie, and had no hint of the age or oxidation. The finish was long with a light holiday spice notes. The tannins were gone but did not leave the wine lacking. This bottle was drinking amazingly, and had no sediment to the last drop.
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10/23/2022 - Cailles wrote: 97 Points
Heitz MV vs Dominus: 1983/1987/1991. Heitz Martha's won the battle (95.3 pts average vs 93.7pts for Dominus) thanks to more complexity and rounder, completer structural frames. My WOTN was the 1983 MV (rated 97 pts) thanks to an ever changing, highly complex aroma play, with a superb, elegant structure. In its first few years, Dominus (maiden vintage 1983) produced very classically shaped Bordeaux blends, great but often a bit square and with some hard edges. 1983/87 were no exception. In the 90s that changed (proved here by a superb 1991). All in all, lots of excellent wines and all worth chasing.
TN: At first a bit oxidative and rather unpleasant but luckily that blew off after a few minutes. With time more precise and clean with dried fruit, and malty notes, some chocolate and herbs. With more time, black fruit underneath. Very intriguing. On the palate very fresh, very round and harmonious, so creamy and yet weightless and light. Full dark berry core, a with some dried but also fresh and zesty fruit, mostly dark berries, a clear and signature minty component, beautiful malty and some herbal touches. Towards the end of the glass, suddenly more milk chocolate and coffee notes came forward. Quite complex, changing with every sip. Wow. The wine got fresher and more vivid by the minute. Lots of tension, superb velvety tannins, good acidity, lots of zest, very harmonious, elegant and round and with a long finish. Very complete wine. 97+ pts and one of the best 1983s I’ve ever had.
Decanting: This bottle would have needed an hour+ in the decanter.
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9/30/2022 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Very clean nose, right after opening the bottle. The wine developed nice mint and eucalyptus notes with some dried fruit and some autumn forest notes. This bottle was a bit on the lighter side, but beautifully elegant and the clean Martha's notes were a delight!
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6/7/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Wine Workshop: Heitz Martha's Vineyard (The Dutch): Another wine that was a bit different and maybe most of the difference is the fruit is really more in the dried style and the wine as a whole comes across as a bit more savory. Dried meats and a bit of soy sauce and a hint of forest floor. Not quite at the level as some of the others, but again still a good wine.
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5/13/2021 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank side-by-side with an 84' Martha's vineyard. By comparison, the 83' was a bit dead and far less expressive. Lacked the aromatics and eucalyptus notes so present in the 84'. Still a fun wine to drink, but I thought the 84' was special.
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4/23/2021 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 91 Points
Purchased directly from Heitz this year. Perfect cork with not a trace of leakage, so this is as well-stored as this wine can be.
Relatively youthful color; a pleasing garnet but with almost no trace of age around the edges.
Elegant nose of strawberries, mushroom and mint. Traces of soy and ash. Occasionally the mint overwhelms what little fruit is left, but after a while it settles down and reveals a complex array of scents.
Initially worryingly lean, and lacking on the midpalate, but after half an hour or so it fills out a bit. Nice long finish, tannins are done, but the acidity gives it a little structure still.
Overall though the elegant and complex nose isn't matched by the taste which, though not lacking in concentration, doesn't feel as generous or sumptuous as a truly great Heitz.
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5/22/2020 - lion@corewines.com Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perfect bottle condition and amazing fun. I need to buy more. The fruit is so fresh and young. Wow.
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3/19/2020 - llink wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and consumed over 3 hours. Dark black red color. Perfect cork, flexible and only showing 1/4 inch of staining. Spicy eucalyptus and cassis infused nose. A little musty at first, but it blew off. The palate is lean and classic, showing medium structure, silky with a good dose of acid. Great food wine, balanced and elegant.
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12/12/2018 - Burgnick wrote: flawed
Corked
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12/25/2017 - sierrapapadelta Does not like this wine: 80 Points
This was a complicated tasting. The cork turned to dust despite a very coordinated effort to remove it in tact. Initial notes were musty forest floor and the characteristic eucalyptus of Martha’s. We decanted for an hour and tried again. The wine opened up a great deal but still was lacking the complexity I would expect for a wine of this age. Definitely on the way down and not worth the money I spent for it at auction.
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11/8/2016 - llink wrote: 90 Points
PWTG Vertical Flight of Heitz Martha's (83, 84, 85 AND 86) Group's #4 My #4
The nose is showing some stewed tired fruit, but you still get the telltale eucalyptus notes that are the signature of this wine. The palate shows better than the nose, rich, young and lithe with some interesting brown sugar components to balance the cassis and red fruit flavors.
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9/11/2015 - no leashes wrote: 92 Points
Agree with prior reviewers -- this is a beautiful wine, with lively red fruit, supple and balanced. Fully mature and drinking beautifully.
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4/19/2015 - phenricsson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Best 83 Cali Cab I've ever had. Perfectly mature now. Not quite up to the 82 we had beside it but very impressive. Not as hard and rustic as most other 83
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4/20/2013 - rrobbins wrote: 90 Points
This wine was unbelievable considering its age. The color garnet red , the cork barely showed age , and after an hour of decanting it still had sugar and legs in the glass.
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3/8/2013 - Goldmich Likes this wine: 88 Points
Better than expected - still had life! Decanted and allowed to open for an hour+. Had plenty of Martha's character. Quite enjoyable.
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2/4/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Tasted double blind. Some thought this bottle might have been flawed but I think it was just rather mature and possibly tired. Definitely had a eucalyptus and mint element on the nose, but somewhat short and simple on palate.
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2/23/2011 - AlexHop wrote:
Nice, although showing its age. Still showed some of the classic Martha's Vineyard character.
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2/22/2010 - rapeers wrote:
Despite its age, this Cabernet from Heitz was full of life and very flavorful. Soft and rounded flavors. Delicious
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8/17/2008 - vinojones wrote: 87 Points
Drk red suggesting oxidation;strawberry/rhubarb, nail polish, sl leathery aroma's;very soft mouthfeel, tannins gone, pipe tobacco, red currant and golden raisin flavors; dry, dusty finish, med long. No hint of usual minty character. Fading into old age and becoming generic"old" wine.Cork was sound, only stained 1/4" from bottom
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12/14/2004 - RAD wrote: 93 Points
Quarterly Wine Dinner with NYC Brown Baggers (Triomphe, NYC): Bottle 40,716 of 49,872. Alcohol 13.5%.
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1/23/1993 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 85 Points
Heitz Tasting (Hi-Time Wine Cellars, Costa Mesa, Ca.): Big, rich fruit, slow to open, buttery, creamy, slight lack of fruit, dusty taste, long, tannic finish.
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