There is no back label. Excellent fill, good color, started out old and icky then got better and better much like an older Burgundy in a ripe year. I have no vintage info.
The label dates from before 1980.
Obviously has been stored on its side.
I found that label on a 1970 Simi Cab when I did an image search. The vintage on the Cab bottle was on a separate neck label, so I bet that fell off the Pinot bottle. It looks like they changed that label completely by 1974.
I had, and may still have, a Simi 1974 Zinfandel with a completely different label, so if their labels were consistent, then it predates 1974. I will search for the bottle, as it has barely a 50% fill and I never bothered to put it in CT.
Thanks all. This was definitely worth drinking and surprising how it developed after opening, unusual for California.
I have a cab with the same label, also no vintage info, maybe the neck label fell off both.
I checked w somebody who worked at Simi back then. He thinks Bob Stemmler was the winemaker as Mary Ann Graf started in 1973. There could have been some Gamay involved as well.
The grapes came from the Alexander valley and Dry Creek.
The wine was probably made the same way they made cabernet back then. Pedroncelli made an excellent pinot in 1970…$3.50 retail.
Somewheres along the line Simi dropped a whole bunch of products and concentrated on a few wines. The winery had a colossal sale that attracted people from 100 miles away.
Russ green bought the winery in 1970; the labels changed in 1974 so your range of possibilities is limited.