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| "Mayacamas Vineyards is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon producers in the history of California.
While so many of its contemporaries who once shared the spotlight with Mayacamas have succumbed to the tides of fashion, Mayacamas continues to proudly maintain its heritage of producing long-lived, structured and classic mountain Cabernets that seemingly offer little to a modern wine world scarred with impatience …. But for those who long for great red wines that cellar with conviction and evolve in the course of time into brilliantly complex and compelling wines, Mayacamas remains one of the brightest stars in the constellation of California wine. It is arguably the last man standing from the glory days of California’s past, when pioneering spirits sowed these fields from which so many subsequent producers have reaped the bounty."
John Gilman, View From The Cellar |
| | | | Bob Travers in the Mayacamas cellar, December 1971 (Dave Randolph/Chronicle Archives) |
| | | | A true Napa Valley Icon, Mayacamas Vineyards was founded in 1889 and sits some 1,800ft to 2,200ft above sea level at the top of Mount Veeder, an extinct volcano in the Mayacamas Mountains range on the west side of Napa Valley where the original winery still stands and is used today. The vineyards sit just above the fog line where the vines benefit from warm days and cool nights. Winemaker Braiden Albrecht, together with consultant Andy Erickson (of Harlan, Staglin, Screaming Eagle, and Dalla Valle fame, to name a few), produces classically styled wines with significant tannic presence and impressive structure, resulting in substantially age-worthy wines that are also considered among the Napa Valley's most elegant Cabernet Sauvignons. The 2019 is more muscular, powerful, and intense than the usual Mayacamas Cab, which is indicative of that vintage's conditions, while the 2018 operates in a more aromatic and exotically-fruited vein. With that said, the wines exhibit their characteristically exceptional balance and elegance. We recommend holding these wines for another year or two, after which they will continue to provide great pleasure for another 15-30+ years. However, if you can't resist the temptation, then decant it for two hours and enjoy.
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| | "... Given the stunning legacy of profound Cabernets that Bob Travers has turned out over his career, almost all of which continue to drink brilliantly, it is really a bit mystifying that more wineries are not looking to Mayacamas for inspiration on how to fashion their own Cabernets.
When I spoke with Bob in preparation for this article, he related that he has always made wines in this manner, which he learned during his stage with Joe Heitz in 1967, as well as long discussions he had with his friends in this era, which included Louis Martini, André Tchelistcheff, as well as Joe Heitz. As he noted, 'everyone made wine this way when I started at Mayacamas in 1968, and as these were the wines that I liked, I saw no reason to change anything as fashions came and went.'"
John Gilman, View From The Cellar
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| | | ▪ "The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a pretty rich, bombastic wine, especially for Mayacamas. A blast of dark fruit, incense, tobacco, licorice, spice, and mocha hits the palate. I would give the 2019 at least a few years in bottle to settle down, as it is quite the powerhouse today. This is an unusually flamboyant wine with plenty of richness and a bit less in the way of subtlety. The opulence of the vintage comes through loud and clear."
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous |
| | | | ▪ "The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon was just bottled this past summer. It is of course a very young wine, but it possesses tremendous aromatic nuance and freshness to play off a core of huge dark fruit. Readers will have to be patient with the 2018, as it is an imposing, vertical Cabernet that needs years to be at its best. Bright floral and spice notes lift the soaring finish as the wine's inner sweetness gradually emerges over time. The 2018 is super-impressive. That's all there is to it."
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous |
| | | | ▪ "The 1974 vintage of Mayacamas Cabernet included 8% Merlot in the blend and was released originally in October of 1978 for $9.50 per bottle. This was reported by John Tilson back in 1980 to be a massively powerful and tannic example of the vintage in need of decades of bottle age to soften up and become approachable. At the time, he thought the wine was excellent in potential, but not likely to match the brilliant 1970 vintage here. Along with the Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, this remains my favorite wine of the vintage, and the wine was stunning at our tasting this past September. The bouquet is deep, pure, and riveting, delivering a fine constellation of cassis, black cherries, cigar ash, gorgeously complex soil tones, black truffles, cigar smoke, and a nice touch of chipotle in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, and almost sappy at the core, with great focus and grip, fine-grained, now modest tannins, and stunning grip and mineral drive on the very, very long, impeccably balanced and magical finish. Bob Travers made some absolutely monumental Cabernets during his long trusteeship at Mayacamas, and the 1974 is one of his greatest accomplishments."
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John Gilman, View From The Cellar |
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