WTN: Heitz of Pleasure

[David M. Bueker]

1994 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon
Elegant, drinkable & persistent Cabernet. There's still quite a lot of fruit, and the tannin still provides an ample framework. Very fine, and a reminder of the quality that Heitz brings to even their regular Cabernet. A California Cabernet to satisfy palates from both sides of the divide (IMO).

I'm a fan of Heitz's wines and have been buying them for many years. It is also one of the few wineries that I go into almost each and every time I'm in Napa (their free tastings help ).
Their wines on the secondary market have seen unfortunately (for the original owner), poor performance, almost uncalled for low. I was at an auction in Boston recently where an 11 bottle lot of the 1999 Martha's in perfect condition went unsold with a starting bid of $300....less than $28 a bottle and no takers. If I had not run out of money by that time,.....

[David M. Bueker]

I didn't think there was a 1999 Martha's. Wasn't the vineyard replanted after the 1997 vintage?

One "issue" vis a vis investment purchases of Heitz appears to be that they can fire sale their lesser vintages (1998 and 2000, for instance). I think I bought a bottle of 1998 Heitz Bella Oaks for $28 (it was worth the original release price of $60 in sheer deliciousness) and a magnum of the 2000 Martha's went for the same price as current release 750s.

[David M. Bueker]

There's been lots of fire sales of 1998 and 2000. Mostly gone now.

I think that vineyard was replanted in 1992 (last vintage before replanting) so there was not vintages in 1993, 1994 and 1995. It restarted in 1996 and I've really like the wines from that vineyards since 2001.

Brian, I agree with you. There were firesales of the 98 and 2000's adn I certainly got my hands into them. I recall happily carrying out mags of the 1998 bella oaks for $60 a pop.... but those were very specific vintages and the sales never got extended into the other years. Hope to be going back soon And I wasn't really looking at this as an investment but was more thinking about it as a value for drinking. I tend of think of Marth's as a special occasion or seldom opened wine (at least for my wallet ) at $150 a pop. Yet I still open them at that price....at $90, it may become a once a month bottle, at $50, once a week,... but at $28?? Wow.... for Martha's that's a steal!

[David M. Bueker]

Ah. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

Ah. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

No worries here David. In general, I trust your memory more than mine