Tasting Notes
Mayacamas’s Chardonnay blocks are scattered throughout the 475-acre property (only 50 of which are planted to vines) and sit on various soil profiles (volcanic ash, gravelly loam, cobbled clay) at different elevations (550 to 650 metres) and aspects. This mix of topographical features and clonal material paints a picture of the site, takes a snapshot in time and consistently results in one of Cali’s most distinctive site-driven Chardonnays.
Each block is picked separately in the cool early morning, and multiple passes are made to ensure that only perfectly ripe, healthy fruit makes the cut. The fruit is hand-sorted in the cellar and pressed predominantly as whole clusters (95%) at very low pressure. The juice is cold-settled and racked to old barrels for a long, cool fermentation. Importantly—and unusually for the region—malolactic conversion is inhibited at Mayacamas, as it has been since the Bob Travers days from the 1970s to the 2000s. This gives a beautiful, racy, almost angular character to the wine’s powerful framework of fruit. The wine then rests in barrels of various sizes with no stirring for 12 months. The use of new oak is also negligible at just one or two barrels per year. - Importer Note
Where to start with Mayacamas Vineyards? How about with the words of Eric Asimov: “A legendary purveyor of classically structured, ageworthy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.” Or perhaps Matt Kramer: “Really, you can’t do better than Mayacamas Vineyards for California wine profoundness.” Then, how about Antonio Galloni: “One of the most iconic estates of Napa Valley.” Or Jon Bonné: “Mayacamas Vineyards is among the classic wineries that have made California wines among the world’s finest.”
Untouched by the clamour for high-octane ripeness and stratospheric scores, Mayacamas remains California’s most un-Californian Cabernet. Slow to evolve and imposingly grand in its prime, the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon’s combination of aromatic power, unique structure and noted longevity has regularly invited comparisons with First Growth Bordeaux—from a great year, we might add! At the same time, the traditional winemaking in concrete and century-old foudre owes more to Piemonte than the Napa cults.
As a young wine, the Cabernet combines astonishing precision, purity and structure with a wild element unique to Mount Veeder Cabernet, once described by Gerald Asher as “a reminder of hedgerow briar rather than the cultivated berry patch”. Nestled above the fog line at a lofty 700 metres on Mount Veeder, Mayacamas’s unique highland terroir delivers the longest growing season and lowest natural yields of Napa Valley. With a much cooler, mountainous climate than the valley floor, it’s a unique appellation that delivers one of Napa’s most unique Cabernets.
Although the fame of its Cabernet has eclipsed that of its white wine, Mayacamas’ early reputation was built on the back of its Chardonnay. Mayacamas’s original owner, Jack Taylor, planted the first Chardonnay vines in the 1950s when there were as few as 150 acres spread across California. Since then, the vines have been replanted with classic US Wente clone and a smattering of Dijon. Since Bob Travers’ time, through precise picking and inhibiting malolactic fermentation, the style has hinged on youthful tension and ripe-fruited intensity before the wine takes on an unexpected opulence with age. The note below gives you all the details.
| Product Type | Wine White Chardonnay |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Sub Region | Napa Valley |
| Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
| Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |