May 25, 2024 - Amazing for 50 years! Celebrated my 50th birthday and this wine was extremely well recieved. Still packed some fruit.
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: We had this twice, a regular bottle (90pts) which had a wonderful nutty, malty nose with a beautiful fruit core and some minerality. but was a bit simple on the palate. Rather one to drink up. Then we had it from a Jeroboam, which had a less intriguing nose but an impressive palate presence with a beautiful dark fruit sweetness, so much fresh fruit, mint and earthy notes, a fine structure and good freshness. Due to the bottle size It was much younger and still shows so much density and potential. On the other hand, it didn’t have the beautiful tertiary aromas of the regular bottle.
April 11, 2024 - Can't give the wine itself more than 90, but we enjoyed it more than that... maybe it's the memories of one of the great California pioneers. Amazing that it's 50 years old and still an enjoyable wine. A treat to drink and remember with 1974 Phelps Martha's Vineyard and Mondavi Reserve, two 100-point wines.
February 23, 2024 - Dinner at Ember with Brian and Rosemany Talley and friends (Arroyo Grande, CA): Bought three different '74 Napa cabs for my birthday celebration. This bottle was way past peak and was barely drinkable. Poured most of it out. Brad - heavypourwine.com
February 2, 2024 - A 1974 Napa Retrospective (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zürich): 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!
February 2, 2024 - A 1974 Napa Retrospective (Zunfthaus zur Waag Zürich): 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.
March 31, 2023 - Upon opening could sense the power of the vintage with deep fruit that is certainly fading. Lengthy finish. Day two this was more oxidized, lost it's bouquet but added some mid palette. Seemingly on the downward slope.
March 30, 2023 - Wonderful nose. Really nice fill on this. A fairly light color, but no evidence of bricking. Fading a bit, but still showing fruit with a long, elegant finish.
December 12, 2022 - Score based on the first 30 mins or so where this was very nice. Plummy, rich cabernet that has Rutherford dust, excellent sweetness, rich cassis, spice and fig cake. Tanzer note is on the money. Would love to get a pristine bottle of this.
However, over the hour or so it was open an oxidative note grew to take over.
December 11, 2022 - Too bad - pretty good nose of plump fruit, caramel, and Rutherford dust but oxidation on the palate, building and worsening over time, eventually overwhelming the nose. Alas.