Mayacamas, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder

Most of the primary was gone fruit was gone

2004 vintage

Decanted it for 3 plus hours. First whiff I couldn't really smell anything. An hour later, got some earth smells but no fruit. That's been my other criticism about this wine - I don't get enough fruit out of it. By hour 3, I took a sip. The acidity was still there but the tanins were not and I could very faint hints of ripe fruit and a bit of coffee. But again, the acidity overwhelmed those notes. I was …

1999 vintage

Double decanted around 7:30am and took to lunch. Drank it around 1pm. Old school bruiser. Herbal - a bit of menthol, chewy, massive and tight on the palate. Some green. With time the nose is rocking. Palate is still austere. This is throwback classic Napa Cabernet - brooding and powerful, dark fruits with complex savory and herbal notes - tobacco and soil. Got better and better with lots of air. Tons of acid and tannins a structure. Meaty and maybe …

2001 vintage

sturdy structure and vibrant color, tannin well integrated with oak character, mint, jalapeño, macerated blackberry, red currant, fruit still seems fresh, maybe dried around the edges, espresso where you find the dried fruit, mint where you find the fresh fruit. Fruit and oak stick closer and closer together in the glass as forest floor creeps in from underneath

2001 vintage

Amazing length and depth of flavor. Still such concentration yet tannins are perfectly integrated. Dark chocolate, espresso, leather, and tar. So hint of oxidation is present, but fruit is barely there. One of the best Napa cabs I’ve had.

2004 vintage

An excellent bottle, showing compelling depth of flavors, structure and freshness that come with a cooler microclimate and a longer growing season and elevage. A pure expression of high altitude Caberner with dark berry, earthy, savory, peppery notes and elevated acidity

1998 vintage

WCC 2004 California Cab Blind Tasting (Fort Orange Club, Albany, NY) : Comes across very primary with lots of ripe black fruited flavours and a sheen of new oak that still doesn't feel integrated into the rest of the wine. There's a bit of leathery funk on the nose as well, but it feels very young and tannic still. A leftover glass shows better the next day.

2004 vintage

WCC 2004 California Cab Blind Tasting (Fort Orange Club, Albany, NY) : [Double-decanted around 2pm.] Big, waxy, red fruit nose. Rich and complex with lots of sour cherries. Should drink well for another decade.

2004 vintage

The '78 Mayacamas is a mind boggling wine, showing a level of freshness and intensity that is hard to believe for a wine that is 46 years old. On the nose, I found dark red to black fruit, cigar, sweet spices, roasted meats, a touch of bell pepper, and fresh mint. The wine exudes freshness and exhibits an amount of primary dark fruit that's hard to believe at its age. I would guess that blind, you would assume the wine …

1978 vintage

Provenance matters. This bottle was stunning! Power, austerity, grace, and complexity are what you find in the non-stop waves of blackberries, currants, tobacco leaf, tart cherries, wet forest floor, and spice. The chewy fruit hits all the right notes with its balance between sweet and tart. This was simply a stunning example of classic California Cabernet Sauvignon at its peak. Drink from 2023-2030.

1978 vintage

This wine is in very good shape. Tart red fruits dominate. Light & easy to enjoy.

2001 vintage

Surprising given the low scores here. This was an impeccably stored bottle. At PnP it was tannic and not that enjoyanle but after 30-45 min of some air it really opened up and impressed the table. Plenty of fruit, seems to have had minimal amount of new oak. The lower abv was appreciated. Really like the style of the older mayacamas

2001 vintage

So f’ing minty. This bottle is not f’ing around. How is this wine 44 years old? Going to be buying more and more of the Mayacamas (it has been a clear winner throughout the weekend, both white or red). @ Napa Boys Trip

1978 vintage

In my cellar since release, decanted at 5pm and tasted from 8pm through 11pm and again the next day. It is a medium to dark garnet with a crimson purple edge with no sign of age. Seems more ripe than previous bottles. Rich, fragrant nose with eucalyptus, cedar, dark chocolate and ripe boysenberry. Palate is a little fresher than the nose would suggest with a fairly bright level of acidity and a dark cherry fruit note, followed by some cedar …

2004 vintage

Enjoyed this cab with a porterhouse at Ruth's Chris. If I had blind tasted it I would have said old world wine. It reminded me of an older bordeaux. Not first growth (or even second) but rather enjoyable and seamless on the palate. It lacks the long finish many of the current crop of big name Napa cabs exhibit but it still gave me joy.

2001 vintage

Color: Red/black; Nose: Beautiful, black currant w/some oak, earth & smoke; Taste: black fruit, slightly high acidity, austere, thin, disappointing; Finish: Medium-long, light tannin, acidic. Try this with fatty meat- it may enrich the mouth-feel.

2001 vintage

An Epic Summer Wine Weekend; 7/1/2022-7/3/2022 (Muskoka, Ontario, Canada) : This pours medium ruby in the glass with light bricking. Opaque at the core. Impressive color given the age. The nose is expressive and one I think is uniquely Californian. Aromas are of eucalyptus, cassis, blackberry, cedar, a touch of brown sugar, smoky forest and redwood forest. The palate is deep, dark and youthful as well. Medium tannin and medium acid with a finish that show lovely woody elements, redwood …

1978 vintage

Medium black cherry red, red fruit nose has a distinct mint or menthol note, resinous, bright. Complex, draws you back again and again for another sniff. Light to medium weight, but packs a big punch of flavour. The mintiness comes across as more sage/herbal on the palate than the nose. Based on CT reviews, gave this a five hour decant. Upon opening, it definitely clamps up on the finish, but the decant drew out a bunch of other complexity. Very …

1998 vintage

Yep. Really good. I guessed 92 opus and feel pretty solid about that. Warm fruited, structure resolced, a fair amount of pyrazine from the cab (although I thought it had some cab franc). Great wine

1992 vintage

Licorice, spicy dark red cherry fruit, mint, and graphite on the nose. On the palate, it is medium in body with spices, dark red raspberry and cherry fruit, licorice, and a hint of chocolate. It has the signature Mayacamas lightness (for a Cabernet) given the lack of oak, but there is a bit of creaminess to the texture, showing density without a lot of weight; the tannins remain very noticeable however, suggesting this needs a lot of time to fully …

2004 vintage

Others have noted that their bottles were opening up. After a 1 hour decant, mine was still, as others have described it, green and reticent.

2001 vintage

Very deep in color. Lots of black fruits in the nose and flavor. Medium to long finish.

2001 vintage

Pronounced nose intensity with notes of sweet cherry, strawberry, red cherry, charred wood. High tannin and acidity.

1998 vintage

Deep indigo in color. Good clarity. Some sediment in the shoulder but no more than expected from this 17 year old. Beautiful floral aroma filled the room upon opening. I decanted and let this breath for 90 minutes before tasting. This was a bit lighter in flavor than I expected. Tasted some dark cherry, red raspberry, some cola and over time, some chocolate. All characteristics suggesting a younger wine and also typical considering Mt. Veeder tends to be the lightest …

2004 vintage

Purchased on sale for $60. This estate was started in 1889 and owns 475 hillside acres. 1998 was a cooler below average vintage in Napa. This normally contains 10-15% of Cab Franc and Merlot. Decanted 4 hours before dinner. Compared to 1998 Mouton and Haut Brion. Deep red color. Green pepper aromas. Sweet jammy red fruit. Notes of ripe cherries, licorice and cranberries. Smooth finish. 92 points

1998 vintage

This is what mountain napa cab is all about. Finally hitting it's stride.

2001 vintage

Old Napa Wines Dinner (Joseph's Place, Wong Chung Hang, Hong Kong) : Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Semi-opaque rather dusty ruby colour moving to transparent at the rim. Nose is deep, plummy and rich. Palate is initially rich, perfectly balanced, good acidic freshness....but it quickly turned green and somewhat unbalanced with distinct acidic tummy burn on the finish. Disappointing after the 1968 Inglenook that preceded it...but I guess it's all down to the individual bottle.

1978 vintage

Finally, the 2001 Mayacamas is open for business. Previous bottles have been green and reticent, so much so that I wondered whether or not these would ever come around. Thankfully, my patience was rewarded. Brought to Tasting Group. Opened in the morning and allowed to slow-ox for six hours before entering the decanter an hour prior. Served double-blind. Poured a lighter garnet with no signs of color variation towards the rim. On the nose, red fruit dominant with dry leaf …

2001 vintage

The herbal, olive, green pepper and leafy components overrode the bright red pit fruits and dominated the wine. The green was there on the nose and palate, along with strong cedar and tobacco notes and a semi-austere character. Fans of this style will like it a lot more than I did.

1978 vintage

Flat, muted fruit, cardboard, somewhat drinkable, improved ever so slightly over time.

1998 vintage

In between primary and tertiary, leaning a bit into the tobacco and leather end. What a pairing to a local grass fed steak. Admittedly I overpaid at Mayacamas’s library release, to see where these go. It wasn’t worth the inflated price, but oh these age nicely. Plenty of stuffing left too.

2004 vintage

Pen ink and plum on the nose. On the palate, currant, black cherry, and notes of bitter tobacco and menthol on the long finish, with moderate tannins and strong acidity. The Cellartracker drinking window currently shows 2012-2020 -- that is impossible. This is just beginning to open up, and it should easily have a decade to go. I had heard that Mayacamas was slow to evolve, but for it to take almost 20 years to get to this point is …

2001 vintage

Mørk granatrød, med et snev av brunt i kanten. Tett farge. I begynnelsen mest modne solbær. Etterhvert kommer litt blåbær, modne plommer og masse krydder, med hint av grønne urter. Gode noter av sigarboks med sedertre og litt tobakk. Med tid slår den inn et ekstra gir som setter fart på alt, og inn kommer også deilig mørk sjokolade. Fortsatt tydelige, om noe avrundet, tanniner, og akkurat nok friskhet igjen. Godt konsentrert og god dypde, men litt kort i avslutningen. …

1998 vintage

Tasted at a trade tasting in NYC. This wine may be the proof point for the note on the 2014 vintage tasted just before. this wine was floral and rich on the nose with a palate the showed black fruit, baking spices, chocolate and molasses. Smooth and layered with the beginnings of secondary flavor development. Intriguing and complex with good texture, acidity and tannin starting to integrate. Long life ahead.

2004 vintage

It was a dinner at the Boston Harbour Hotel in the early 90's where we ordered a bottle of the 1978 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon. Such are the events that create a love affair. The wine was spectacular, and my search for information about this wine and the driving force behind it was on! Living in Toronto, getting a few bottles for my cellar was not an easy task, but I did over the years find a few. In 2002 we …

1999 vintage

Wine Tasting Group - Cabernet Sauvignon & its Parents (Classic Wine Storage, Dallas, TX) : From Mt. Veeder in Napa. Aromas of currants, mild herbs, and hints of saddle leather. Nice, elegant palate with currants, mild leather, and herbs. Moderate tannins on midpalate. Nice acids on the finish. A restrained, elegant Napa cab that's drinking very well. Very much enjoyed this.

2004 vintage

Smooth, balanced, elegant Cab. Medium bodied, round fruit. Tannins are muted. Low acid.

1999 vintage

Dark and brooding with currants and cherries. Finishes with a bit of pumpkin pie spice.

1999 vintage

So different for Napa and such an incredibly slow aging wine. I tasted this and the 2014 together and I honestly did not see too much different between them. This is very old world with a lot of dark fruit and herbaceous notes to go around. I enjoyed this but not everyone will, but you owe it to yourself to try these wines at least once, very unique.

2004 vintage

Bay Area Redux - Anniversary trip 2019; 6/26/2019-6/29/2019 (Napa, Sonoma, and points in between) : Tasted blind alongside the 2003. Darker purple, bordeaux-style nose of leather, plums, with a touch of floral. On palate, more delicate than you'd expect, with soft tannins.

2004 vintage

I was so excited to try this wine. Mayacamas generally ages so beautifully. Unfortunately, it fell very flat. There is no currant left, and you're left with expensive herb. The drinking window on this site is so wrong. It says Drink 2018-2040. At this point I have 2 bottles left, and can't decide whether to pop and be disappointed or give them a few more years and see if they change.

1998 vintage

Medium plus nose, matches the 2003, gorgeous. Palate is also similar, a little closed in comparison, so falls short of terrific, but still very good wine and may see a better window down the road.

2004 vintage

From the winery, brief tasting note. Deep ruby color, somewhat closed, maybe in a dumb phase? Ripe red fruit, earth, tobacco, leather, very nice acidity on the palate, should be better in a few years?

2004 vintage

Good showing. Lots of dusty, earth, savory, spicy elements on the palate. Dusty but still structured, lively and fresh, the fruit takes a back seat to dusty, spicy, earthy tones. Paired nicely with a grilled pork chop.

1999 vintage

Wine Dinner at Atlas. No notes. Amazing experience/education in Burgundy (and others). Holding up very well for 40 year old Napa. Well done.

1978 vintage

Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California - Dujac, PYCM, Lafon, Carillon, Niellon, Lafite, Latour, Mayacamas, Montelena, Mondavi, and more : Served blind. I thought this was an off bottle, there was a slight TCA and rubber note on the nose. The palate was sweet, with some heat on finish. It seemed disjointed. Then with air it became a bit better knit. Never really knew what to make of it, and upon the reveal I was sad as I would loved to have …

1978 vintage

Out of magnum - nice dark berry flavor along with notes of tobacco and licorice. Really suave and dense with a full mid-palate and great balance and opulence. Fresh and lively with a long, succulent finish with complex notes of eucalyptus and dark spice. Drinking young out of mag. 94+

1978 vintage

What a gorgeous wine! Showing once again how superb 1978 Cali Cabs are.

1978 vintage

Last bottle...disappointing, too sweet....and most of the fruit is gone

2004 vintage

I love their wines and we took this one on advisement when visiting the winery this past May. Regretting this purchase - the wine is done! It hasn’t oxidized or turned but it is thready at best, zero structure. If you have any, pop it open, maybe you’ll get lucky!

1998 vintage

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Mayacamas, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder

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