I recently came across a bottle of 1973 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon in my cellar.
I recall at the time I acquired it (it’s been over 30 years!) that this was the first vintage for Conn Creek. A fellow collector (as I recall the story) told me that the owners of Conn Creek were offered some wine (in tanks or barrels) from a winery that was going out of business and needed the quick cash. The source of the grapes was supposed to be one of the premier vineyards in the Napa Valley – possibly the Eisele Vineyard.
Can any of the old timers out there either confirm or correct the above information?
Founded in the early 1970’s, Conn Creek was among a small group of wineries leading a renaissance of the Napa Valley, and played an important part in establishing Napa Valley’s reputation as a fine wine growing region.
When Bill and Kathy Collins purchased 54 acres of Zinfandel vines in northern Napa Valley in 1968, there was not much of a market for fine wine in the U.S. But at the time they were content hauling the grapes down to their Los Altos Hills home and making wine in a friend’s basement. Little did they know that in less than a decade they’d make a wine that Robert Parker would call “one of the great classics of the seventies, as well as a testament to what heights California Cabernet Sauvignon can achieve."
That was the 1974 Conn Creek Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was the beginning of Conn Creek’s enduring commitment to Bordeaux-styled red wines. Bill and Kathy always knew they wanted to make Cabernet Sauvignon; Kathy became enamored of the varietal when she taught school in France, and Bill, an Annapolis Naval Academy graduate and electronics executive whose travels often took him to France, recognized early on that Napa Valley had the ideal climate and topography for Cabernet. So in addition to replacing the non-producing Zinfandel vines in their own vineyard with Bordeaux varieties, they began sourcing Cabernet Sauvignon from other Napa Valley grape growers.
It proved to be a good strategy. Through the seventies and into the mid-eighties when they eventually sold the winery, Conn Creek made some of the most highly acclaimed wines in California, including several from the Collins’ own vineyard.
I went to their website, but there is no mention about [the source of] the 1973. Obviously, if the grapes were bought at a “fire sale”, they were probably sworn to secrecy as to the source of the grapes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people around the [Napa] Valley who know the real story . . .
This old timer can provide the information because I drank the 1973 Conn Creek many years ago. It has been a good number of years but I found many 1973’s and 1975’s drinking beautifully in spite of the fact that they were overshadowed by the great 1974 vintage. Your bottle of wine was one of the wines of the vintage and it was made from Steltzner Vineyard in the Stags Leap Appellation. If there is any joy left in the bottle I’d love to hear about it.
I’ve been traveling a lot, and have pretty much dropped out of the wine scene, except for opening my old bottles of Cabs from the 1970’s around wine dinners. I have such a dinner coming up at Acquerello in October, and I am agonizing over the wines to bring (2 bottle limit – sheesh!). I’d love to open the Conn Creek, but would like to be able to tell a “story” about the wine when we drink it. Knowing the true facts is infinitely better than qualifying the story with “I heard that this wine might be . . .”
George, great to run into you here. I’ve not got many 70’s wines left but I do have one I saw on your list of best wines in another thread. All I’d have to do is locate it and we could drink it.
Was the Conn Creek Eisele Cabernet purchased juice from Spring Mt Winery? I recall hearing/reading this as well as it was a stuck ferment in which Chenin Blanc was used to restart. Any input?
I know I had the 1974 Conn Creek Eisele in August of 2007, and it was the first ranked wine of a 5 wine flight, edging out even the 1971 Ridge Eisele. I think there were 12 of us tasting.
Well, last night we opened the 1973 Conn Creek Cabernet at Acquerello. WOW!! This wine was singing!
The nose hit you immediately (after decanting) with Asian spices (5-spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and a hint of clove), ripe black raspberry and damson plum fruits. WAY more of a bouquet than a 40 year-old wine has any right to have!
The initial impression was one of ripe black fruits, some plum and cherry, and a prodigious combination of balance, power, and complexity. It was extraordinary. I’d put it in the league with the 1978 Shafer and the 1974 Phelps “Insignia” – some company! This wine was as smooth as a baby’s bottom. I can’t imagine it being any better either 5 years ago, or 5 years from now. The sommelier remarked about the initial impression of perfect acidity, and the amount of fruit this wine has carried for four decades. I wish I had more bottles, but at least this one was enjoyed at its absolute peak, with great food and company to bring out its best.
If anyone out there has some, now is definitely the time to enjoy it!