Beschreibung:

LEGENDARY NAPA ICONS Recently removed from underground home cellarage near Munich, Germany. Cellar inspected and prepared for importation by Christie’s Wine Department specifically for this sale. If I could save time in a bottle The first thing that I'd like to do Is to save every day 'Til eternity passes away Just to spend them with you Jim Croce, Time in a Bottle, 1973 Time in a bottle, lyrics written in the era of this collection seems a fitting description for the cellar before you. Rare is the collection that contains significant quantities of some of California’s most seminal and legendary wine icons. Rarer still is provenance of original owner pedigree…and perhaps rarest of all, the opportunity to capture such beauty, unblemished by time, perfect from its first day to its last. This is our eternal hope with our passion for wine collecting. When this assemblage was first presented to us in 2017, it read like a veritable time capsule given the quantities of unopened, original cartons. Eighteen bottles of ’73 Heitz Martha’s, twenty-four bottles of ’74 Martha’s, cases of Mayacamas 1975, cases of Mondavi Reserve 1974, Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1975, Mount Eden, Spring Mountain, Sterling Reserve, Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir 1977 – the second vintage of this pioneering Central Coast benchmark winery, all listed in quantities rarely seen outside of California... and even that occurrence is becoming scarcer. Case in point: 1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon – Christie’s has only ever brought four original cases of this landmark wine to auction since 2000. Christie’s is the first house ever to offer two full cases at auction. The following is our second presentation from this legendary Napa collection. Since 1978 the wines have been stored underground cellarage of “thick walls” at the home of our client just outside of Munich. The cellar itself housed ideal conditions for long term storage as a nearby river groundwater keeps year-round temperatures at 8 degrees Celsius. All the wine shown here were shipped to the Munich home shortly after their commercial release by Sanford Wine Co. to Geoffrey Roberts and Associates in London. All told, before now, the collection had only ever traveled once from California to Munich. In true international cooperation, I enlisted the assistance of our Amsterdam-based Wine Specialist, Edwin Vos to see this collection first hand. His first-hand report, “The good conditions of the labels and high levels for the older wines were a clear example of these perfect conditions. The owner was generous to offer a bottle of the Sterling Cab 1974 and Mayacamas Cab 1975, both showed exceptionally well. Fine flavors which only could have come from a slow maturation under perfect cellar conditions. I can wholehearted advise any wine lover to pay a close look to these old California treasures as they will offer fantastic drinking pleasure.” The 1974 Heitz Martha’s is clearly the headliner of this collection, but that should not divert attention from a rather fabulous 1973 stablemate of which there are two lots available. The ‘73 a very good vintage for Joe Heitz and is likely the only wine worth drinking if you are born in this year. Mid-1970s Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignons for the uninitiated are something to behold. These are bold, dark, intense mountain style wines that seemingly live on and on. California experienced multiple back-to-back drought years in that decade, and I cannot help but be reminded how such conditions must have forged these wines. Registering at 12.6% alcohol defines the early modern era of Napa and 1974 Mondavi Cabernet Reserve as if from a different era of winemaking to now. Aged twenty-three months in oak (75% French/25% American), this wine has long been a benchmark for valley floor producers. At the heart of this blend is their historic To-Kalon Vineyard and their Stag’s Leap District Vineyard. A note about corks in this era: in keeping with our obser