Visiting Mayacamas, who are making stunning, ageworthy mountain wines in Napa’s Mt. Veeder
Website: https://www.mayacamas.com/
Mayacamas, which is translated as call of the mountain lion, is one of Napa’s true star wineries, making wines that show why Napa is a serious place for fine wine. They haven’t gone down the path of picking late to get more power and flavour, nor have they embellished the wines with new oak. These are proper mountain wines that have structure and balance, and great ageing potential.
Some history. The property was owned by a couple of Catholic families during prohibition, and it was only in the 1940s that it became what it is now. The Taylor family bought it in 1941, got cuttings from Wente and planted Chardonnay. For a while, this was the sole focus of Mayacamas. The Taylors sold it in 1968 and it was bought by Bob Travers. He was a finance guy from San Francisco who had done two harvests at Heitz Cellars, with Bob Sessions. The two Bobs made the 1971 vintage at Mayacamas, and from 1972 Bob Travers was on his own.
I first visited back in September 2015, when the vineyards were being remodelled and replanted, after a change in ownership. My second visit was in July 2024, when the new plantings were fully established. In between, in 2017, they’d had some fires on the property and say they were lucky that the winery didn’t burn down.
Mayacamas is in Mount Veeder, which is a very interesting sub-appellation of Napa at 1850 feet, with the vineyards going up to 2450 feet. A classic Veeder day during the summer would be 10 degrees (F) cooler than the main valley floor. Acids and tannins are a feature of the red wines. The site is an old volcanic crater, and you can see this from the winery. The soils are volcanic in nature, with texture ranging from light cobbled ash to basaltic cobbles, and there’s some diversity in the soil profiles across the estate. 60% is dry farmed (previously the whole vineyard was, but some plots benefit from a bit of irrigation).
Bob Travers made the wines here for 45 years, and importantly, kept things the same. He retired in 2013 at the age of 74. Bob’s wines were brilliant, but for a while the market was chasing ripeness and extraction, with soft tannins. Fortunately, the market is now coming back to this style of wine. Bob’s approach was to pick early, ferment quickly and not messing around with too much new oak. Bob retired in 2012, and sold to a consortium in 2013 that included Charles Banks and the Schottenstein family (they are now sole owners since Banks had a four-year prison sentence for fraud). The Schottensteins have multiple business interests, and own DSW and American Eagle. Joey Schottenstein is a big wine collector.
The property is 475 acres and had 52 acres under vine when it was purchased, much of which needed replanting. In 2013 the 52 acres yielded just 18 tons of grapes, so something needed to be done. In 2014 they took out a lot of the vineyard, and this year (2024) was the first time the whole vineyard was back online. The replanting was done with American heritage clones, and the vineyard is now one-third Chardonnay and two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon, but with some Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Grenache Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Aligoté, too. There are some terraces here, which now are not allowed because of the tendency for erosion, unless they are grandfathered in.
Mayacamas has never been 100% estate: Bob would buy in other grapes. From 2013 it has just been Mount Veeder grapes, though, to preserve the mountain character of the wines.
The goal of the current winemaking team is not to change the style, but to dry to do this better, and the wines. The winery has changed a bit since I visited last, but not dramatically. Some of the older wooden tanks have gone, but still the elevage for the Cabernet Sauvignon is two years in large format oak followed by 10-12 months in 225 or 500 litre barrels.
I visited with Cathy Cohn, director of global sales, and winemaker Braidon Albrecht, who joined here in 2013. He’d worked with Phil Coturri, vineyard manager, before.
THE WINES
Mayacamas Grenache Rosé 2023 Napa, California
This is one of the kosher wines. Direct pressed Grenach harvested for rosé. Pale in colour, this is a lovely dry style with a crystalline edge to the citrus and pear fruit, with a touch of cherry. Nice weight in the mouth, finishing bright and vital. 92/100
Mayacamas Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Napa, California
Another Kosher wine. 13 1/3% alcohol on the label: they are grandfathered in to do the fractions. Juicy and mineral with lovely intensity to the grassy, stony fruit with nice acidity. It’s juicy and linear with nice precision showing a mineral twist to the pure fruit. 92/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Chardonnay 2022 Napa, California
About half own property (Gate Block and Hill Block) and the rest from a 1975 vineyard dry farmed, Wente Clone, on Mount Veeder. No malolactic, aged in mixed sizes of used barrels. So textural and fine with pure citrus fruit as well as subtle toast and spice, with some pear and aniseed. Very fine and detailed with lovely precision and purity. Should age brilliantly. 95/100
Mayacamas Hill Block Chardonnay 2021 Napa, California
13% alcohol. There’s some mint and bay here with intriguing herbal detail as well as pure citrus fruit. Great acidity with a core of citrus and some interesting herbal and tangerine detail. Very expressive and complex, with the potential to age really well, showing intensity but also delicacy. 96/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Chardonnay 2001 Napa, California
Gold in colour. Honey, nuts and spice on the nose with some waxy notes. The palate is linear and crystalline with a stony undercurrent and notes of peach, pear and spice. Such complexity here with freshness and focus. Beautiful wine, maturing nicely. 95/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Chardonnay 1996 Napa, California
Full gold in colour. Bold and rich with some toastiness and notes of honey and nuts, but still so fresh with lovely crystalline fruit. Has citrus and some apple and spice. This is wonderful, and still full of energy. 95/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Chardonnay 1989 Napa, California
Full golden colour. Rich, toasty, peachy nose with some honey. The palate is concentrated with notes of marzipan and honey, with toast and peach fruit. Such detail here: it’s showing evolution but has this lovely crystalline acidity and spicy complexity. Evolved but still pure. 95/100
Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2023 (sample)
This is second leaf, and is a cask sample. Bright and expressive with nice sweet cherry and plum fruit, some spices and a touch of green (that’s nice). Ripe and expressive with lovely sweetness to the fruit.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (Sunset Block) sample
Dense, structured but with lovely sweet fruit. Nice intensity and depth here with some black cherry and plum character as well as blackcurrant. Fruit-driven and structured with nice precision.
Mayacamas Mt, Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 Napa, California
Youthful, compressed and vital with a lovely concentration of blackcurrant fruit. Rich and layered. There’s a sweet core of fruit here, with nice texture and tension. Ripe and delicious, but there’s substantial structure under the sweet fruit. A beautiful wine with a long life ahead of it. 95/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Napa, California
14% alcohol. Current release. Beautiful aromatics with such fresh, elegant blackcurrant fruit, and notes of garrigue-like herbs and black tea and olives. The palate is fine and elegant with a core of sweet blackcurrant fruit with nice grip. It’s structured but really elegant with a twist of minty herbiness and a core of silky sleek blackcurrant fruit. Approachable now but with so much more to deliver. Very fine grained. 96/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Napa, California
Sleek but fresh blackcurrant fruit nose. Great structure on the palate: ripe but restrained with fine structure and good acidity. This has nice precision. It’s still youthful but has amazing potential. 96/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Napa, California
This is the last year fully made by Bob at the winery. Fresh and floral with nice brightness, and a core of sweet berry and blackcurrant fruit. Fresh and supple with nice weight and some richness, but also brightness and delicacy. Such finesse and purity here, with a lightness of being. 95/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Napa, California
A library release for this fall, which will be released alongside the 2020. Complex herbs here: mint, bay and olive with firm tannins sitting under the green-tinged blackcurrant fruit. It’s concentrated with great acidity and some firm structure, but the dominant feature is the exotic herbal character: very garrigue like. Still youthful and firm with a long way to go! 97/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Napa, California
A warm year. Ripe and dense with a hint of mint and concentrated blackcurrant fruit, as well as some earthy notes in the background. This has nice grip with good density and richness. 94/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (magnum only, soon to be released)
13.5% alcohol. Beautiful brooding nose of blackcurrant and fine spices, with a hint of tar, but although there’s a bit of evolution there’s still brightness and freshness. The palate is concentrated, brooding and structured with some richness but also some freshness. Still quite youthful with immense concentration. Dried herbs, firm tannins. It has hints of top Bordeaux but also hints of top Barolo. Remarkable. 97/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 Napa, California
12.5% alcohol. From half bottle. Complex and tightwound with mint, herbs and spice, showing olive, wild herbs and taut blackcurrant fruit. This has great acidity. It has evolved with nice development, showing lovely spicy detail. Blackcurrant, black cherry and dried herbs, with a slight saltiness to the finish. Lovely stuff, with savouriness as well as sweet fruit. 96/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 Napa, California
So youthful and beautiful. Floral aromatics with cherries and plums as well as some gravelly depth. Lovely focus on the palate with nice acidity under the sweet blackcurrant and cherry fruit. Juicy but showing nice depth. Tart, crunchy and structured, and quite wonderful. 97/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 1993 Napa, California
12.5% alcohol. Wonderfully complex with warm herbs, spice and some earthiness. Quite savoury with some animal shed in the background. The palate is mellow, earthy and complex with sweet berries and cherries, and a touch of spice. Some blackcurrant fruit left, with nice warmth. This is drinking beautifully now and has a real depth to it. Perhaps one for drinking soon. 95/100
Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 1986 Napa, California
This is still focused and fresh with some red cherry and cranberry character, as well as fine spices and just a hint of earth. There are some mature notes of autumn leaves. Supple and fine with amazing precision and detail, this is an elegant wine that is beginning to drink really well. 96/100
Older notes:
Mayacamas Chardonnay 2019 Napa, California
Fine, spicy and mealy on the nose with brightness and texture. Mineral and fine with some salinity and nice depth. This has a lovely texture with a slightly salty finish. Very fine and expressive, and not heavy. 95/100 (06/23)
Mayacamas Chardonnay 2013 Napa, California
Very pure and fresh with lovely focus to the citrus and pear fruit. Very fine and expressive: seamless but bright with lovely purity. Lovely finesse to this wine. 94/100 (tasted 09/15)
Mayacamas Chardonnay 2008 Napa, California
Lovely fine toast, fennel and pear nose. Fine, subtly nutty, pithy citrus palate showing nice pear and fennel notes. Complex and beguiling and showing great precision. 94/100 (09/15)
Mayacamas Chardonnay 2000 Napa, California
Full yellow colour with hints of mint and toast, and some pear. Complex, broad yet fine on the palate with subtle toast and lovely linear pear and citrus fruit. Mineral and fine, showing beautiful evolution. 95/100 (09/15)
Maycamas Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Napa, California
Subtle chalky, minty edge to the pure red and black fruits nose. Brooding, fresh and precise. The palate is so fresh and linear with lovely purity to the black fruits, showing great acid and tannin. Such finesse here: linear and floral. 95/100 (09/15)
Maycamas Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Napa, California
Very bright and fresh with lovely pure blackcurrant fruit. Linear and pure with bright fruit and good structure. Taut and expressive showing lovely precision. 96/100 (09/15)
Maycamas Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 Napa, California
This is showing some evolution, with savoury earthy spicy notes and some fine herbs. Black fruits with some nice acidity, as well as hints of earth and mint, with grippy tannins. So expressive and quite lovely. 95/100 (09/15)
Maycamas Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 Napa, California
Aromatic and evolved, and subtly malty and savoury on the nose. The palate though is really fresh with cherry and plum fruit and good acidity. Really elegant and quite beautiful, and fully mature. 94/100 (09/15)
elegant and quite beautiful, and fully mature. 94/100
Availability in the UK: Roberson Wine
