1989 Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard
Martha’s Vineyard is a legendary plot of vines situated on a gentle slope up Mayacamas Mountains on the west side of Oakville district. This is a powerful but classic juice, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cork condition: perfect appearance — no leakage or deformed. Crumbled as it was being drilled in. As a matter of fact, I made a rookie’s mistake and pulled only half of the cork out. Definitely, ah so cork puller next time for a wine of this age regardless of how impeccable the cork appears.
Appearance: youthful, at the center still dark deep ruby. On the rim, showed some edge with clear expansive rim but not a lot. By appearance I would say it’s from the early 2000 or at worst from the late 1990s.
Aromas and bouquets: explosive. Very perfumed after an hour of decanting. Probably we should have left it sit for longer. While it expressed a lot of appealing notes: dried black fruits. Very seductive and pretty. Cassis, black cherry, some licorice. Sweet dried fruits. A bit of earth and soil tone starting to develop but not much. Cedar wood. Again would not have guessed that this is 27–28 years old. There was however no trace of the seductive minty scent that has made this particular bottling so famous and in demand over these years. Either we haven’t decanted it long enough or this is too young!
Palate: Explosion of flavors. Red cherry, cassis, blackcurrant, blackberry, some chocolate. The presence of oak components still masks other Martha’s appeals. This wine is clearly on the up rather than the other way round. Acidity was still refreshing. And while tannin has completely integrated, its big-personality presence told us that it will last a long time in the cellar for those who are willing to wait.
Finish: vanilla oak, cedar wood, soil, dried red fruits, with a bit of banyard notes.
My last thoughts — this could have been kept for at least another 10 years. In very good condition. Surprisingly youthful. Great start to 2017. Still couldn’t detect the famous minty character. Still too much new oak component. 1989 was one of the last vintages of the old Martha’s vines before everything was pulled from earth to be treated for phylloxera in the early 1990s. Very good bottle condition indeed. (In fact, the last vintage from the old vines is the 1991).
My score: 92+ (hold for 5–10 more years)
