Heitz Martha's no longer to be all Heitz!

Boy, you know things are bad for the California high-end wine market when Heitz, that has been selling a single-vineyard
bottling of Martha's vineyard since 1966, is cutting back.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/a ... 065400.php

Now, in a major change, Heitz Cellar will not be the sole steward of Martha's Vineyard fruit. For the first time in 60
years, the winery is not buying the vineyard's entire haul, and other wineries will purchase its Cabernet Sauvignon grapes
from the 2025 harvest. "Heitz no longer wanted all the fruit, and I said, OK, I'll look for other buyers," said owner Laura
May Everett.

[David M. Bueker]

That’s definitely a “wow” development.

Wow, indeed, I'm used to just saying "Martha's" and everyone knows what I'm talking about.
Without details hard to know, but assume indicative of pullback in wine sales.

Never liked Heitz Martha's Vineyard myself. Like drinking toothpaste. I have never liked eucalyptus aromas and flavors in wine. For many years I found that many Sonoma reds had an objectionable character I called Sonoma Stink. On my first wine tasting visit to Sonoma County one of the first things I noticed was that the smell of the many eucalyptus trees was everywhere, and that it was the source of Sonoma Stink. Oddly enough I don't detect that character very often in Australian wines, despite eucalyptus trees being ubiquitous there.

-Paul W.

I didn't react as strongly as Paul does but agree that the eucalyptus was often rather strong in the wines.

Too bad they couldn't have leased part of the vineyard to a winery called 'Depths'....

I've never had it, by the time I started working at the turn of the millenium Heitz Martha's was already out of my price range. While my income has increased, it certainly hasn't kept up with prices. I would have thought there were enough centi-millionaires who could buy cases of $250 wine without a second thought to sop up all the Martha's there was. But I guess everyone is chasing the cults and the cult charge-alikes? Or high-end Burgundy? I used to follow that world out of interest, but not anymore.

Obviously with the decline in wine sales there will be adjustments, but this was one of the blue chips, I would have thought.

Never liked Heitz Martha's Vineyard myself. Like drinking toothpaste. I have never liked eucalyptus aromas and flavors in wine. For many years I found that many Sonoma reds had an objectionable character I called Sonoma Stink. On my first wine tasting visit to Sonoma County one of the first things I noticed was that the smell of the many eucalyptus trees was everywhere, and that it was the source of Sonoma Stink. Oddly enough I don't detect that character very often in Australian wines, despite eucalyptus trees being ubiquitous there.

-Paul W.

The characteristic flavor of Martha's was usually characterized as minty rather than the eucalyptus that I got most strongly in some of Sean Thackrey's wines. It is shocking to hear of the sale, which I suppose reflects declining sales, as Dale said.