Just curious if any of you have records of what you paid for some of the ‘better’ or well-known names in Cali.
Examples -1994/5 Mondavi Reserve, Insignia, Silver Oak, Spring Mountain, Monty, Ridge etc.
I remember the Mondavi Reserves at around $60-80 and the SM reserve $75ish. They really have not gone up that much compared to a lot of the new kids on the block.
If you have specific inquiries, email me. I might have some sources close to me who could help out.
By memory Chris the case of 1992 Dominus I bought, and devoured, was $600 or so.
I don’t have exact prices but I do know that 91&95 Etude and 92 Insignia were all purchased for the low $30s.
I do know that I paid $80 for 94 shafer HSS.
That’s all I can remember unfortunately.
The origin of this inquiry was a quick discussion with friends (George Hejna and Zach Lang) over the ‘value’ aged California cab can represent (to me).
I’d just enjoyed a bottle of 1995 Arrowood (gift from Mike Sai - Thanks Mike!) and truly enjoyed it. 3 weeks ago I had a Whitehall Lane reserve that had age on it (don’t recall vintage specifically but it was in the 1990’s).
So I jumped on Hart Davis to filter through 1991,2,4,5,7 Cali Cabs and was encouraged by the prices of wines. Even the heavy hitters were not grotesque in their expense.
I am looking for what people paid for those wines because if I can snag 1995 Mondavi Reserve for 75 per I’m pretty confident, provenance aside, that is a limited amount of appreciation for the original owner and I am the benefactor of that.
Seeing things like Glenn’s $50/Dominus or Brian’s Etude and Insignia pricing in the low 30’s gives me a frame of reference - which is exactly what I seek.
I think the '94 Silver Oaks were $40 for the Alexander and $50 for the Napa.
Hi, Chris.
We bought a lot of California Cabs from the early 90’s. 1990 and 1991 Montelena Estate were $30, 1992 and 1993 were $36, the 1994 was $40, and the 1995 was $50, all direct from the winery. It was less expensive at Retail. The rest that I recall were all from retail – 1991 Ridge Monte Bello for $45, 1991 Beringer PR at $33, 1992 Beringer PR for $40. 1990 and 1991 Caymus were $16, and the 1992 jumped up to $36. 1990 and 1991 Dalle Valle were $17, while the Maya’s from the same years were $45.
Hope this helps!
Thanks,
Ed
Sounds like Ed and I were drinking the same stuff back then!
1991 Caymus - $16.99
1991 Caymus SS - $89.99
1991 Beringer PR - $40
1991 Beringer Knight’s Valley - $15
I recall Caymus going something like $25, $30 and then $35 for the '93-'95
I paid $50 for the Maya 1992 and 1993
I paid $25 for the Dalle Valle Cab '92 and '93
[I sold some of those Mayas in 2001-02 for $450 each]
For comparative purposes, I also distinctly recall the following Bordeaux prices on some of my faves:
1990 La Louviere - $24.99
1989 Ch. Oliver - $18.99
1990 Lynch Bages - $40
1989 Pichon Baron - $40
1989 Lafon Rochet - $20
1990 Ch Latour - $115 (did not buy, just tried)
I paid $60 for 1994 or 1995 Pahlmeyer - I bought both and I do not remember which was $60, but I remember taking the plunge on two bottles.
Robert:
The 1990 First Growths were around $70 out here in Northern California when they were released. My biggest wine regret was not buying Latour and Margaux.
The 1991 Caymus SS was $100 at the winery. We went to taste it right after it was released and it was spectacular. But too rich for my blood in those days.
Thanks,
Ed
1994 BV Private Reserve - $38 in 1998
I drank mine long ago, and was disappointed. It was soft and not that interesting. Someone served me a bottle last night that was totally alive, with evolved tannins and good acid. It was very pleasing.
If only we had gone deep!
I started my law firm in 1992 with 3 other new grads, all of us sharing a budding interest in wine. We all stocked up on the '91 Caymus and the Bordeaux, but like you, the SS was a bit rich. We all split the cost and shared the bottle at a tasting together. I still preferred the La Louv. Man those were fun times, exploring and learning.
Dropping a $100 buck back then on a bottle was a huge ask.
I remember these at similar prices…was able to score the Latour for less than a Bill though. I was a heavy buyer of California wines from 91-97. The constant price increases became hard to swallow, so I passed on the '98-00 vintages and have only bought selectively since. 1991 Dominus for $40 was the best QPR ever though…
I can recall:
93 BV GDL - $35
94 Spottswoode - $40
93 Caymus - $25
90-94 Diamond Creek - $50
94 Araujo - $40
94 Dunn - around $40-$50
1994 Phelps Insignia - $39.99
1994 Harlan Estate - $65 (I think - could be $60)
Thanks for reminding me of all the wines I can no longer afford 
That’s an interesting perspective Chris. In the end it doesn’t really matter what the release was even if, for other than the purpose of drinking, one was gauging potential appreciation. You’ d be way happier to get 94 Hillside at double its release than a Mondavi Rsv for a 20% increase.
But there are definitely quite a few 90s cabs floating around still at not more than 50-60% appreciation. I drank a ton of cab back then and still drink a lot now. 94 made for a turning point for some wines which were even cheaper prior. I recall Insignia being $35 at discountup to 93. It was my go-to occasion wine. The 94 saw a jump up to $40-45 at best as it was put on the map and didn’t discount as deep. Hillside was along the same curve, with 94 marking a jump. I recall getting it pre 94 for about $40, in 94 for about $55-60, and then after the pub. for the 94 it jumped up significantly. Montelena had about the same pricing.as did Araujo. Montebello, Mondavi Rsv , Dunn, and Dominus all cost more in the early 90s than Insig and Shafer, with Special Select and Groth Reserve topping them all.
The real bargain stuff was Freemark Bosche, Whitehall Reserve, Fisher, Robert Craig, and Silverado Limited. Btw, there were some early/mid 90s cabs on the Benchmark bin sale.
I have a soft spot for Mondavi’s reserve cabs - likely because it was one of the first quality reserve cabs available in Metro Manila. I just picked some of their '92 (around US$75/bottle) and '93 (around US$60/bottle) yesterday - great prices for me.
Best,
N
A good friend of mine and I use to drink a lot of Caymus back then, best part was stopping by the tasting room to buy they had a real stunner of a blonde back then in charge of tasting’s. Anyway 94’ Caymus was 35.00 but after the big score and like #4 or #5 wine of the year for the Napa cab. they bumped the price of the 95’ Caymus to 65.00 I stopped buying and said good by to the blonde:>)
One of us has lost more brain cells than the other, not that it matters. But Special Select was well on the map before the 94. It had been W.S. Wine of the year in 85, then again with either the 90 or 91, with the other being #2 wine. Parker had scored the wine around 95 in the #1 year. He did score the 94 a couple of points higher than the #1 wine and it jumped up again after the $94.
My recollection was the the price jump occurred in around 94, but after the 90 or 91 vintage. I recall it being around $30-35 for the very early 90s and going to about $55-60 at a reasonable discount for 94. It was definitely more than Insignia in 90-94 as I liked the Caymus but felt it was not worth paying paying the extra and the Insignia was definitely at $35 discounted for the 93.
Another wine that floats around at auction for a reasonable price is the Beringer Reserve. The 93-97 are still alive. 98,99,00 are passes.