A slight tumble off'n the ole

[winoweenie]

sabbatical One of my oldest and dearest friends sons' birthday party was yesterday so CB and I decided to attend. I've decided to do the South Beach diet so will officially start agin tomorrow. Anywhos yesserday thunk it wuld be the perfect time to see if my remaing 2 74s have stood the test of time. The party started at 5 so at 2 I opened the 74 Volcanic Hill.Still kickin' patootie after all these years. Lovely notes of black fruits and spices pervaded the room. Still almost opaque with just a whisper of light ruby at the rim. Silky entry with a weighty center and the solid 5-lapper finish. This wine has been a classic since it was released. I was lucky enough to have probably accumulated and drank 7-9 cases. A few years ago I supplied Al a few bottles for a tasting he was having in Paris. The other bottle was just as impressive. 74 Heitz Marthas. If possible the nose was even more pronounced than the Volcanic. Probably due mainly to the eucalyptis, minty note that so charaterizes this beautiful juice. Like the Volcanic, I have probably had close to a hundred bottles of this kick-heinie juice. Incredibly dense on the palate again the finish was beyond the legendary 5-lapper. When I looked up the price on these 2 beauties it even made the weener ill....7.50 for the Volcanic and 20 for the Marthas. (SIGH) WW

[tandkvd]

Was it that you paid $7.50 in the 70's for that bottle that held for 30 years? I don't know how much that would be in todays prices. I'm guessing $25 - $35? Thats still a low price for a wine to hold that long isn't it?

And just to ask, what would it go for today?

[This message has been edited by tandkvd (edited 07-11-2004).]

[winoweenie]

The last time I saw a bottle of the 74 Volcanic it was selling for 495 and the 74 Marthas was around 600. You can still find an occassional bottle of Marthas but I'd be very suspicious of the pronenance. WW

[wondersofwine]

WW, if I hadn't tried Diamond Creek wines at the California Barrel Tasting in DC, I wouldn't know that Volcanic Hill is from Diamond Creek Vineyards. I'm inserting this extra bit of info for the sake of others who may not be familiar with it. I just looked at a comment on the web saying that these wines are destined to be aged and are highly sought after because of their quality.
Nice way to break from the sabbatical!

[winoweenie]

Sorry there WOW. As usual, I made a error of omission thinking ebberbody knows there is only one Volcanic Hill. Boots and Al Braunstein are such close friends of mine I assume everyone on the planet knows of their juice. WW