Shay A

9.5

After missing a ‘70s and ‘80s Heitz vertical many years ago, I vowed to seek out a bottle as all the comments from the tasting were astoundingly positive. My last bottle of Heitz Martha’s was the ‘01 (which was great) a few years ago, but at 46yrs, this was quite the experience.

The ‘78 has a bit of a legendary status, so expectations were high. Upon opening, the cork was in good shape (sigh of relief) and the color was unbelievably dark ruby with some bricking (another sigh of relief). The singular signature menthol/eucalyptus began to fill the glass, alongside aromatics of red berry fruits, espresso, some sort of sweet brown sugar/caramel note, and a savory-graphite type note too. Beautifully elegant on the palate with more red fruit, herbs (bay leaf?), and even some pipe tobacco (subdued, not in your face), but it sports the classical old Napa cab profile that is pure. Spectacular wine, and I could simply smell the wine all day…the aromatics were so powerful the entire time.

Open in bottle for three hours and powered through the entire time. Wish I had another so I could have the same experience! — 4 days ago

"Odedi"

9.3

Deep purple in color.

Fruity and easy drinking right out of the bottle

Rich and extracted. Smooth and elegant. Showing nice complexity and balance. Spicy and entertaining.

Still young, but already enjoyable, even by itself. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years. Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

Robert Parker 92 points. Wine Spectator 94 points.

A delicious Napa Cabernet, and better with airtime. I've had many different vintages of this wine and it is very consistent.

A blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot and a touch of Petit Verdot and Malbec.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$100. — 3 days ago

"Odedi"

9.7

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim. Not showing much age.

Gorgeous nose, and dry and fruity on the palate with medium acidity.

Showing blackberries, black currants, black cherries, cedar, cola, licorice, light vanilla, light coffee, chocolates, earth, black pepper and tobacco leaf.

Long finish with fine grained tannins.

What a wonderful surprise. This 23 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is drinking fantastically.
Elegant and fruit forward. Rich and extracted. Soft and smooth.

Good right out of the bottle, and so much better after an hour in the decanter.

Wine Enthusiasts 94 points. Robert Parker 97 points. Wine Spectator 98 points.

Showing great complexity at this point, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 years.

A great sipping wine. Just gorgeous.

A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc.

14.1% alcohol by volume.

97 points.

$230. — 16 days ago

Ericsson

9.6

The closest thing to true Bordeaux style red blend from Napa. This wine really accentuates the vintage and the terroir, along with fruit and soil. The Dominus Estate manages the vineyard via dry farming, relying on nature for water, making a profound difference on great vintages such as 2016. Find a good vintage Dominus and you’re bound to have one of kind. Cheers. — 6 days ago

Martijn

9.4

With a fantastic personal story our host Berry M shared this fantastic 33 year old bottle of Napa Cab. What a treat and experience. The wine still so pure and powerful. Lacking a bit of fruit but steady and gentle tertiary notes kicking in softly (leather…..).
Thanks for sharing!! — 6 days ago

with Eric

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2002 vintage. Last tasted 10.06.22 (9.4). Similar "gliding along" impressions with feminine characteristics. This bottle (nice fill, cork and decent sed) was a goody. Decanted and tasted after 5 mins, 30 mins and 2 hours. Bit more structure evident after two hours open as to be a different, yet fantastic, wine. Funny how some of these underwhelming, less than aggro wines can take on another life of their own, on their terms, by gently removing all doubt. Still another 5-7 years-easy. 11.21.24. — 6 days ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Very nice wine and drinking fresher than the 2007 Tignanello we had alongside. Classic Napa, but also with the right level of restraint. Quite delicious. — 17 days ago

Tom Garland

9.3

+1 hour decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A splendid dark ruby red color. On the nose: Intoxicating/intense nose of black fruit, dark currants, worn leather, forest floor, coffee grounds, minty dark chocolate. Taste: smooth, satiny, structured, balanced wine with chocolate covered brambly blackberry, tobacco, earth, cedar, black pepper, and a herbal licorice long finish. A medium body old world style wine that shows well right now and should continue to provide more years of enjoyable sipping. — 11 days ago

with Brenda

Jay Kline

9.3

Double decanted two nights before service. The 2013 Insignia pours a deep garnet color with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing but still quite youthful with notes of tart and ripe dark fruit: dense brambles, purple flowers, tobacco, vanilla and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. At 11 years of age, this remains tightly coiled and needs more time to open up and tell more of its story. All that being said, this is very good now…but to my palate, better after 2027 and through 2043. — 17 days ago

Sonia Ross

9.2

November wine. Very balanced and elegant. — 13 days ago