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Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1974

Heitz Cellar, Napa Valley, United States

Heitz Cellar
Napa Valley United States
  • 100
    Points
  • The 4 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 99 Pros of
    100 recommend
    this wine
441 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    1

  • Producer ranking ?

    1

  • Decanting time

    2h

  • When to drink

    now to 2025

  • Food Pairing

    Enjoy without food

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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A SURPRISING STORY OF THE MOST FAMOUS AMERICAN WINE : HEITZ MARTHA’S VINEYARD 1974

Often compared to the 1945 Château Mouton-Rothschild, the most prestigious vintage of the exquisite wine, Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Heitz comes from a small vineyard in a location that was long kept a secret. So secret was the spot, that the owners chose not to have their addresses in the phone book or on their mail box. In short, it is the best wi...

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The Story

Martha's Vineyard Cabenet Sauvignon 
The distinguished legacy of Heitz Wine Cellars spans nearly half a century.

Founders Joe and Alice Heitz embarked on their illustrious journey in 1961 when there were fewer than a dozen wineries scattered across the Napa Valley. With the purchase of their first 8-acre vineyard just south of St. Helena, Joe’s years of intense study and experience quickly translated into a reputation for bold and brillian...

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Wine Information

Temperate Consistent. Cool spring with a touch of frost. Long, cool summer. Ideal ripening conditions during crush. Excellent, well-balanced fruit. A memorable vintage.



 

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Average Bottle Price

2022 2021 2019 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995
1 810€ +3.4% 1 750€ +12.2% 1 560€ +10.6% 1 411€ +6.7% 1 322€ +22.9% 1 076€ +12.7% 955€ +16.0% 823€ +13.7% 724€ -2.8% 745€ +46.4% 509€ +24.4% 409€ +41.5% 289€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium, Brick red and Healthy

ending

Long, Flavorful and Spicy

flavors

Mint, Blackcurrant, Coffee, Licorice, Herbs and Blackberry

nose

Intense, Refined, Seductive and Complex

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Warming, Medium tannin, Concentrated, Well-structured, Perfectly balanced, Youthful, Full-bodied, Rich, Ripe, Elegant and Silky tannins

Verdict

Masterpiece and Outstanding

Written Notes

Heitz Martha's Vineyard 1974. Still a big, powerful wine that sums up the richness of this perfect Napa vintage. It is densely fruity, spicy with an enormous black plum and minty fruit character to go with the acidity. It's concentrated while still showing such wonderfully pure fruit. This is a monumental, eternal wine!

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  • 98p
Is there a more storied and fabled Cabernet in all of California? Perhaps the 1941 Inglenook, but there is a much smaller group of storytellers for that wine than the 1974 Heitz. This bottle lived up to the hype. It had .huge mint. in the nose, a veritable printing press for currency, I thought, and then I had my own flashback of Mouton Rothschilds from the .40s and .50s. Bob joked .a julep at Churchill Downs.. I think those are enough references for its minty qualities! The wine was meaty, rich, smooth, chocolaty and delicately spicy. The wine also gave me an acupuncture impression with its precision and prickle on the palate. Chocolaty, meaty and rich got written again by me . you get the idea
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  • 96p

Medium-intense, brick red colour. Very aromatic nose with loads of medicinal herbs and spices. Full-bodied, silky smooth texture, very settled with super smooth and powdery tannins, elegant dense blueberry fruit, lovely toasty coffee notes in the lingering finish. Very long and harmonious. Not a 100-point wine but this wine has still some WOW-effect! Drink now and serve with grilled lamb chops with thyme and roasted garlic potatos. JL 97p (4/2022) 

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  • 97p
1974 was to California what 1961 was to Bordeaux. A great vintage all over, but the real star and probably the most legendary of all american wines is none other than Martha's Vineyard. It is to me like a charicature of the incredible Mouton -45. Great eucalyptus nose, fantastic extravagant fruit and so much class. A truly great wine! Doesn't need much decanting time.
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  • 98p
a legend. a wine i have been most fortunate to taste and drink many many times. still very young and square. not the most elegant wine in the world but with a lot of character. fresh and bold without being heavy expression the very typical eucalyptus in the nose. great structure and savy tannins.
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  • 95p
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Information

Origin

St. Helena, Napa Valley

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Excellent

Fake factory

There is a possibility

Glass time

1h

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Inside Information

In our family, most of life's memorable moments have involved sharing a bottle of fine wine with friends and family. Many of the personal and business relationships that we still treasure after three generations started around our dinner table.

When people choose Heitz Cellars, they envision a classic wine and pure elegance that they can count on year after year. That is the heart and soul of our heritage. Our practices and methods have evolved over the years, but the quality of our wines and the integrity of our approach to the business --- that is going to stay the same."    - Kathleen Heitz Myers, President

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