1969 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon C-91- USA, California, Napa Valley (11/8/2009)
Opened for my 40th. John Gilman wrote a fantastic review of this wine that sums it up. It’s a baby Heitz Martha’s with huge notes of mint and eucalyptus bursting from the decanter the moment is is opened. Smoke and underbrush join the party as well. Wow, what a palate, totally silken and resolved, fresh and juicy, just gorgeous yesteryear Cabernet from Napa, classic, bright red fruit, supple, gorgeous balance. Not tired in the least. Really stunning. (93 pts.)
NICE! These old Heitz’s are fun. As a fellow 69er…would LOVE to get my hands on some '69 Heitz. This is the closest I’ve come:
N.V. Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot NV 46 Bottled in 1978- USA, California, Napa Valley (7/27/2009) TN: Burgundy vs. U.S Pinot Noir blind tasting…plus a dozen others!!! (Buzzini House): Funky electrical fire thing(not off putting) at first…surprisingly dark fruit, dirt dust, dried herbs, bayleaf, leather…didn’t really scream “Heitz”, or maybe it did…this was the end of the day wine after a LOT of others. For a NV wine…maybe from 1974-75 fruit?..it seems to be holding up better than expected. Will try some leftover tonight. Interesting side note…this was bottle #55,865 out of 55,865. (89 pts.)
I’m just kicking myself for not buying more of this wine before. This was a random one-off at Premier Cru for $145 a few years ago–I don’t even recall if they had more than 1 bottle. The only Wine-Searcher listing I can find is for $500 now (although those seem to be described as if they are Heitz Martha’s). Anyway, lesson learned. 1969 California Cabernet from a premium producer is worth taking a risk. This was a beauty and a classic.
Bud, I will take a look on the bottle when I get home, but you and I both know that means jack-s**t in terms of what was actually in the bottle. I am guessing this was in the 12 to 12.5 range, as I had no problem polishing the bottle, no hangover, not terribly tipsy last night. If I do the same with a modern bottle of Quilceda Creek I can feel a SERIOUS difference.
On the C-91, here is what John Gilman says: Inquiries with the Heitz family revealed that the “Lot C-91” bottling may well be the best-kept secret for great old Napa cabernet from these early years at the winery. Back at this time, when the winery was still small and just getting established, the Heitz family would sell their new release of the “Napa” bottling of cabernet while the Martha’s Vineyard bottling still had many more months (or even years) of barrel aging still to go. Occasionally, the winery would begin to run out of the Napa bottling while the Martha’s Vineyard was still in cask, and with no older stocks to fall back upon, some of the barrels of Martha’s would find their way into an earlier bottling in combination with any remaining Napa, and which would be designated as “Lot C-91”.
I encourage you to check out his complete writeup here: : - CellarTracker" onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;
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Thanks Ray. Agreed on classic Cali Cab. I guess we won’t know for another 40 years, but it sure seems like they don’t make them like that any more. It always makes me a bit sad when I drink CaliCab from the 60’s to early-80’s. So pretty.