A very, very special treat that has been held in the winery’s cold, and 130 year old cellars since it was bottled; this 2003 is proof positive that the iconic Cabernets of Mayacamas truly blossom after a decade or two in the bottle. The vintage was challenging with a warm and unusually wet spring, but the summer cooled off until a heat hit in early September, allowing the grapes to hit peak ripeness just in time for harvest. This is a soaring, peak drinking Cabernet that should be decanted gently off any sediment before serving at around 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems. The deep, red and black fruits of Mt. Veeder are still very present, but the savory notes of cedar, mint, cigar box, clove, cocoa powder, graphite, and damp earth are all swirling about. The tannins have softened a bit but are still providing excellent structure along with that classic mountain acidity. It’s definitely a special occasion wine (and it will continue to be excellent for another decade plus), but it is a sure bet to impress any and all wine lovers.
The world-class Mayacamas winery was originally established in 1889 by John Henry Fisher, a San Francisco businessman, who used the local stone to build the cellar that is still in use today. After the 1906 earthquake, he was forced to declare bankruptcy and the property was sold for a mere $5,000 (in today’s dollars that might get you a down payment on a small condo in Napa). WWI and then Prohibition saw the vines and the winery essentially sit idle until 1941, when Jack and Mary Taylor purchased the property. They were the first in a series of innovative owners, and along with improvements to the cellar, their most impactful contribution was replanting the old vineyards (mostly Zinfandel and some other blending grapes) to Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. That may seem like an obvious move, looking 80 years in the rear view mirror, but at the time Cabernet was a true anomaly in Napa…go figure!
In 1968 the Taylors sold the property to Bob and Eleanor Travers, and the “modern” era began. Fresh from his work with another blossoming Napa legend, Heitz, Bob was instrumental in adding additional barrels, of various sizes, to the cellar and instituting traditional, European winemaking techniques. His talents, along with the inherent qualities of the distinct Mayacamas terroir, were recognized almost immediately, with his 1971 vintage being chosen as one of the wines to represent California in the famous Judgment of Paris. Vintage after vintage of Mayacamas was released to widespread acclaim, and even as Napa grew into the global wine powerhouse that it is today–and as styles and trends continue to come and go—Bob continued to make the same beautifully complex and long-lived wines.
A little over a decade ago, Bob and Eleanor decided it was time to retire, so they sold their iconic estate to the Schottenstein Family. Recognizing the long, storied history of the property and the decades-long love affair many customers have had with the wines of Mayacamas, the family and their team sought to improve the health and well being of the vines and the cellar without sacrificing the old-school complexity of the wines. Farming was converted to fully organic beginning in 2013, and today many biodynamic practices are used. Some of Bob’s famous old barrels did need replacing, but by and large the cellar got just some basic maintenance and cleaning and the core of the aging program—French oak casks, mostly neutral, and of various sizes—remains fully intact.
