2014 Ironstone Concours d'Elegance

Tucked away in the small charming foothill town of Murphys, CA is Ironstone Vineyards which hosted it's annual Ironstone Concours d'Elegance on the last Saturday of September. This years' event featured nearly 300+ antique, classic and sports cars from makes like Packard, Duesenberg, Pierce-Arrow, Morgan, Pantera, Corvette, Porsche and more.

The show is equivalent to a night cap to the concours season, scheduled just six weeks after Monterey Car Week. And coincidentally it also handshakes the start of the new car season starting with the Paris Motor Show. (We need to reevaluate our press budget so we can attend that next year!)

Owners are allowed to setup their cars the previous night (and many did) but we showed up before the sun broke to capture the excitement of cars rolling in. The volunteers did a great job escorting cars to their corrals. However we witnessed a couple of hiccups when cars were placed in wrong slot. Thankfully, owners were willing to trade places for their intended positions on the lawn.

Besides the cars, attendees would be short-sighted not to take in the grounds. The estate is beautiful. The lawn is neatly manicured. Rubble rock retaining walls provide raised landscaped areas for shrubs and trees lush with leaves on the brink of turning into their fall colors. The stage houses the live band and the cars radiate out from the amphitheater like a rising sun. The park-like setting rolls downhill and bends and twists around groves of trees, streams, buildings, and ponds all lined with cars. You'd be hard pressed to find a more picturesque backdrop at any car show.

But what we discovered with this event is a fantastic group of cars, owners and stories. The volunteers we're friendly and helpful. The cars were top notch and easily lived up to a Concours d'Elegance event. And the owners and families were happy to talk about their cars and share their passion of ownership with anyone that wanted to talk.