Traversing Mt Veeder For Mayacamas' Mountain Fruit: Taste Testing A Vertical Flight Of Mayacamas' Iconic Cabernet Sauvignon & Mayacamas Chardonnay
The world is filled with great stories of triumph, defeat, and comebacks - few of them start with a pickle farmer. Well, here's a story of a pickle farmer whose dream eventually culminated in a Napa Valley icon that was even selected to represent the promise of the New World in the legendary 1976 Judgement of Paris.
And so it was in 1889, that a German immigrant by the name of John Henry Fisher who had settled in San Francisco, California, had figured that high up in the Mayacamas Mountain ranges, on the lips of the crater of an extinct volcano, it was probably a good place to plant some grapes. Fisher had done pretty well for himself, having grown from being a pickle farmer to owning a pickling company of his own - it was the American dream! And as he began to ponder what other businesses he could expand into (at one point he even got into engraving swords), he had figured that winemaking might prove profitable. And so Fisher would go up to the highest peak nearest to him and start planting Zinfandel, a Californian staple at the time.

Mount Veeder.
The mountain peak he had chosen was called Mount Veeder, so named after and by Reverend Peter V. Veeder in the 1850's. Fisher would thus grow and produce his wines with these rugged and precious mountain fruit, which would then be transported by horse and carriage in casks down the mountain trail, all the way to the Napa River, where it would then be shipped off to San Francisco to be sold. He called his winery Fisher Vineyards, and had built it from stones gathered from around the property, even digging a cave in which he could age his wines - incredibly the historic winery stands largely the same today, therefore making it one of the oldest active continuously producing Napa Valley winery, and also one of only a handful with a pre-1900's wine cave.
Unfortunately, it didn't last. The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 would destroy Fisher's main business, and in turn force Fisher to sell his winery at auction. The winery would technically come to be owned by one Illinois Pacific Glass Co - then one of America's largest glass manufacturers, whom as it turns out Fisher had owed money to. With little interest in making wines, the company would leave the winery and its vineyards unattended until it was purchased by the Brandlin family, who had their own winery on Mount Veeder. The Brandlin family would own the winery through America's sweeping Prohibition, and again as the winery was largely left unattended, some evidence of bootlegging appeared to have taken place, with not only wines but also grappa being made at the estate!
Jack Taylor.
As the 1930's rolled around and Prohibition was repealed, this was where Mayacamas' modern history - and success - began to emerge. As the mountain ranges never really was known for winemaking so much as it was for mountainside retreats and vacations, it so happened that the Taylor's, Jack and Mary, had been staying at the nearby Lokoya Lodge in 1936 when they had chanced upon the winery. Jack had been a chemist for the Shell oil company, whilst Mary was a chef, photographer, musician and author. They would thus proceed to purchase the estate in 1941, and although interrupted here and there by the onset of World War II, they would eventually settle at the estate with their three children by 1945.
The Taylor's would begin the laborious work of revitalising the winery - first and foremost starting with renaming it the Mayacamas Vineyards. The name "Mayacamas" comes from the local indigenous Wappo saying that meant "howl of the mountain lion", and so befitting of its name, the Taylor's would design the logo "M" featuring two lions facing one another within the letter. In replanting the vineyard, it was clear that Chardonnay was their preference, which they would source budwood from the historic Wente Livermore Valley Vineyard, although they would also plant Cabernet Sauvignon. They would farm organically, and began bottling their wines in 1947 using sourced fruit from other neighbouring estates, whilst their vines matured. Initially they would bottle under the name Lokoya (today a winery of its own, belonging to Jackson Family Wines) whilst they still relied on sourced fruit, before eventually debuting what is said to be the first Mayacamas labelled wine using estate fruit in 1951 (although some contest that this goes back to as early as 1947) - this easily places Mayacamas as one of the oldest continuously producing wineries in Napa Valley, with only a handful with more history! What was particularly impressive of the Taylor's was that even though a wine could be named by its varietal (eg. Cabernet Sauvignon) so long as 51% of the variety was used in the wine blend, the Taylor's had made sure to use 95%, if not better yet 100%, of the variety that was stated on the label, thereby showcasing their adherence to transparency and quality.
Mayacamas winery.
Another particularly interesting act that the Taylor's did was to install concrete vats for fermentation - still used till this day, and accepted as part of reasons for the Mayacamas style - which was highly uncommon in the New World wine regions, allowing for more stable temperatures during fermentation and its porosity that provides gentle oxidation, altogether leading to softer tannins and a more terroir-led flavour profile (as concrete is inert and does not interact with the wine such as with oak). Much of the Taylor's efforts to bringing Mayacamas to modernity then had paid off - Mary had helped to run the winery's mailing list (a pioneer at what has become a Napa Valley staple today!), where she would include family recipes and vintage reports, and would strike 10,000 subscribers by the 1960's. They would even form a corporation and sell stock in the Mayacamas Vineyards so as to raise additional capital, and would pay their shareholders dividends in the form of bottles of their Chardonnay - this was a huge hit!
A young Bob Travers.
By the 1960's, Mayacamas was to be taken to a whole other level. What was styled as a cozy family winery, was about to hit the big leagues - here was 31 year old Bob Travers. Travers had graduated from Stanford and was well on his way to a career in finance, and yet found the path to be rather dull. With several investment partners, Travers, just 31 years old at the time, would purchase Mayacamas Vineyards from the Taylor's. By that point, the Taylor's had largely left the winery's operations to legendary winemaker Bob Sessions, and had begun to treat the winery as again somewhat of a vacation home. After the sale to Travers, the Taylor's would go on to establish Mayacamas Fine Foods; led by Mary, the food products company would go on to do well for itself and remains active and still family owned till this day - even still sporting a similar "M" as the one designed for Mayacamas Vineyards! Winemaker Bob Sessions would stay on for several more years, before moving on to producing the iconic 1973 vintage of the Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon that would famously beat the French Bordeaux First Growths at the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, which would just as well give Mayacamas' wines much spotlight. Sessions would later go on to lead Hanzell Vineyards, which is equally renowned for using the oldest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines in America.
Now back to Bob - Travers that is - after leaving his job as stockbroker, he had an inkling that winemaking was going to be in the cards and so with limited experience began to work with the also legendary Joe Heitz of Heitz Cellars (another wine selected to represent Napa Valley in the 1976 Paris Tasting, alongside Mayacamas and Stag's Leap) in order to kickstart his learning. He would work one harvest with Heitz Cellars, which also brought him under the mentorship of yet another American winemaking great, Andre Tschelistcheff, also widely known as the Dean of American Winemaking, having brought much needed winemaking expertise to America which in turn spurred some of America's greatest wineries to achieve international acclaim. This single harvest season would have a profound impact on Bob, cementing in him a strong sense of traditionalism when it came to winemaking, something that Mayacamas would be known for till this day (and particularly through the decades where American wines chased unending opulence).
Fun Fact: Travers' first vintage at Mayacamas was in fact a 1968 Late Harvest Zinfandel, the first of its kind in California at the time.
The landmark 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Together with the other Bob (Sessions), the two Bob's would produce the first three vintages of this new era of ownership, before Sessions would leave for Stag's Leap Winery in 1971 - it was that last vintage together that would help Mayacamas gain prominence. In the mid-1970's British wine merchant Steven Spurrier had wanted to shine a light on how far American winemaking had come along as compared with the stalwart French Bordeaux and Burgundies, which were the gold standards of the time - this was to be known as the 1976 Judgement of Paris. He would thus gather a selection of Napa Valley reds (Cabernet Sauvignon) and whites (Chardonnay) - counting the 1971 Mayacamas, the 1973 Stag's Leap, the 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars, as well as notable wineries including Ridge and Spring Mountain - and serve them blind against some of the most renowned French Bordeaux and Burgundies, such as First Growth's Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut Brion, as well as Roulot, Joseph Drouhin and Leflaive which provided the whites. The blind tasting was scored by several notable French judges (alongside the British and American organisers, Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher). The results would change wine history forever - a candidate from America would win in both the red and the white categories! In later years, Spurrier himself would state that the result was a surprise to himself as well, and that he had not planned to prove any sort of point, but instead had sought to stock take where America was at as compared to the benchmark. The decades following would see a spectacular bull run in interest (and prices) of American wines from Napa Valley.
And so for the fateful Paris Tasting, Spurrier had requested from Bob the 1970 vintage, however there was none left, and so Bob had instead offered the 1971 vintage which was still not yet ready. Mayacamas placed 7th out of the 10 wines selected in the Cabernet Sauvignon category, however, a 30th anniversary recreation of the 1976 Paris Tasting, with the exact same vintages of the same wineries so as to see how the wines would hold up with 30 more years of age, would see Mayacamas soar up to 3rd place! This solidified Mayacamas' traditional winemaking philosophy of making long lived reds that would only get better with age. Yet practically speaking, regardless of the results, that Mayacamas had been selected to represent Napa Valley against the best that France had to offer was sufficient enough to put the mountain winery in the spotlight as amongst the best that the region had to offer.
From there on, over the next four plus decades, Bob Travers would go on to clearly define the Mayacamas style and in so doing, would carve out a serious following for the winery. Travers wanted to fully lean in to Mayacamas' rustic purity - up in the much more chilly mountain top some 2,400 feet above, the terrain is often wet and foggy, with double the amount of rainfall as compared to the valley below, whilst the soil is an eclectic rocky mix of volcanic material composed of igneous rocks and thin loams; certainly not for those looking for an easy time as a winemaker. Despite the estate being of about 460 acres, only 50 acres are planted (dry farmed), taking the form of almost an amphitheater as the blocks of vines curve and fan out. Tack on top of that the fact that the vines here only produce half the yield as compared to the region's average, and it makes for a winemaking operation that is almost artisanal - likely the worst nightmare for a commercial operation. Yet it was here that Travers would do his magic.
100 year old oak foudres.
For a start, Travers had embraced the ruggedness of the environment Mayacamas was in and would simply push through any difficulty to make a vintage happen, consistently embracing a modesty about the winery's infrastructure - his primary goal was simply to preserve the unique acidity that the mountainous terroir had offered. As such, Travers would consistently pick his fruit early (even as later picking became increasingly popular so as to achieve more opulent and riper wines), and together with fruit sourced around the Mount Veeder area (and sometimes more broadly in Napa), the vinification would then happen in Mayacamas' historic stony winery. The fruit would first be de-stemmed and quickly fermented (very short maceration times) with native yeasts in concrete vats (the same ones installed by the Taylor's), before then being transferred (via gravity flow) to large old neutral wooden foudre casks (incredibly old wooden casks from the time of the Taylor's, about 100 years old) where the wines would be aged for 2 years, after which it is then moved to smaller barriques for an additional year of ageing, and then finally it is bottled and further aged for yet another 2 years before being released, all in all almost entirely eschewing the use of new wood. This meant that Mayacamas would very uniquely and laboriously age its wines for a whopping 5-6 years before it is released! Yet this has had the effect of creating wines that were terroir-driven, juicy and concentrated yet elegant and fresh, with incredible ageing potential. Within wine circles, it's often said that Travers' philosophy was more consistent with how great Italian Barolo's were made, and most definitely stuck out compared to its Napa Valley peers.
Travers would shift the Chardonnay emphasis of the Taylor's to a Cabernet Sauvignon focus, which has also become what the winery has become best known for, eventually also growing Merlot. Nevertheless, in making the Chardonnay's, Travers persists in his traditionalism, also avoiding the use of oak (only resorting to 2-10% usage where necessary), with the wines never undergoing malolactic fermentation, once again to preserve the fruit's natural acidity. With decades of care under the watch of Travers, Mayacamas' vines would eventually reach great ages, with vines going up to as far as 60 years old. Through the decades, Travers would keep Mayacamas almost frozen in time, with cooling during fermentation done in a most rudimentary manner with ice that was brought to the winery daily and kept in a handmade tank to cool tubes of water that ran across the fermentation vats, and even when it came to bottling, Travers would keep to an old school bottling line from the 1940's, which meant that bottling would have to take place over months, where most wineries today would be done in a matter of hours. Traditional to a fault, whilst some of Travers' practices would result in some degree of inconsistency (which could otherwise be easily rectified today), much of his efforts in preserving Mayacamas has served to put the winery above fads and fashions that have come and gone - for that very reason, Mayacamas under Travers had built itself a reputation for being a wine that offered a taste of a style of the past.
And so when 2013 came around and it was announced that Travers had sold Mayacamas to Charles Banks (of Screaming Eagle fame, a fellow cult Napa Valley wine) and the Schottenstein family (of American Eagle apparel success), fears that the last refuge for the traditional was under threat had been well warranted. As Travers had come along in his age and had few family members to pass the winery on to, with numerous interested investors circling about, he would thus elect Banks and the Schottenstein's to carry on the helm of Mayacamas, convinced that they had the financial resources and acumen needed to do so, and had promised to preserve the winery's style. With 45 years of experience in hand, Travers would not only stay on with the new team for several more vintages to ensure a seamless transition, but would also offer his detailed notebooks that would speed up the team's learning curve on the unique being that was Mayacamas.
The new team was staffed by Andy Erickson (previously also Dalla Valle, Bond, Staglin) and Annie Favia who had up till then steered Screaming Eagle in its rarefied space of big and bold cult Napa wines, which was seen as perhaps as antithetical as possible to the Mayacamas style of being more rustic and austere. Where Screaming Eagle heavily embraced the vanilla tones that new oak offered, Mayacamas as we've seen was hardly a fan of that style - and so unsurprisingly the concern laid with whether Mayacamas was going to now head in a completely different direction and abandon its traditionalism. The team also included Braiden Albrecht who served first as cellar master and has since become the winery's winemaker, as well as Phil Coturri, who would help Mayacamas' replanting program.
Yet, more than 10 years on from the acquisition and it appears that Mayacamas' winemaking has largely been left as is, if not for an extensive yet necessary vineyard replanting and several operational enhancements that brought the winery up to speed. The reality nevertheless was that Erickson had indeed sought to bring about several changes that would have taken Mayacamas closer towards the more modern style of Napa Valley wines, and had even spoken about how he had to resist heavily applying methods he was familiar with, and yet as it turned out, any effort to put Mayacamas' wine through new oak proved unsuccessful, and the team would quickly cancel orders for new oak barrels within just a year of their early experiments after having taken over the winery. And thus changes in the winery have been limited to installing a functioning cooling system and upgrading the bottling line so as to complete bottling of the wines to a much shorter period that in turn reduces bottle variation and inconsistencies.
Perhaps the biggest change has nevertheless been in the vineyards which necessitated a mass replanting effort, although measures have been taken to keep the transition gradual, only replanting about five acres of vines per year. This was necessary as the existing vines were now well within 30-60 years old, and were also afflicted by phylloxera, which altogether severely hampered yields and ripeness. Yet the replanting effort remains a painfully slow process to get right, with the ground having to be allowed significant time to rest after the vines are removed, and the new vines needing at least 5 years of age before they can start contributing to the harvest. The team has also used this vineyard reset to convert to fully organic farming (they've even got sheep grazing about the vineyards during winter), whilst also changing the composition of the vineyards, trading out Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc for small lots of Cabernet Franc, Grenache Blanc and Aligote, with now 2/3 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1/3 Chardonnay forming the majority of the vines. American heritage clones have been used for the new vines, drawing on Shot Wente and Montrachet Chardonnay clones. The goal set by the new team remains resolute - to move towards 100% estate grown wines. Whilst Mayacamas has never historically been 100% estate grown, by 2023 it has achieved 75% estate grown fruit for both its flagship Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
In 2017, the Schottenstein family made a complete purchase of Mayacamas, and have since been sole proprietors of the historic estate. Given the Schottenstein family's heritage, the winery has also since taken to producing a line-up of kosher wines.
Fun Fact: NBA Star Lebron James is said to be a big fan of Mayacamas. even celebrating his 33rd birthday at the estate.
And thus the legend of Mayacamas continues to live on in its Old World style freshness and elegance, long-aged, low alcohol-high acidity, and ever still rebuking the more modern riper and more opulent Napa Valley style.
Today we'll be working through a flight of Mayacamas' iconic Cabernet Sauvignon, taking us through from 1998 to 2019, with just a splash of 2003 Chardonnay to kick us off!
Wine Review: Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay, Mt. Veeder Napa Valley
This Chardonnay comes from the 2003 vintage, and was aged for 18 months in oak barriques.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Straw
Aroma: It opens really rich and supple, great concentration, yet fresh and brightened with a light tartness of gooseberries and quince. It's zesty at the top, and grounded by golden pears and apples at the base, with a touch of vanilla cream and honey filling in the bouquet, coming together to give freshly harvested yellow fruit. There's a rusticity of straw, with also this slightly unripe fruit character.
Taste: Medium-bodied here, really rich and supple, again led by lightly tart gooseberries, with also pears and quince following closely by, also a touch of passionfruit cream. The acidity is fresh yet evenly and gently distributed across the body. Superbly creamy, plush and lifted, with almost a sparkle. More gooseberries and maltose candy continue to come through with time.
Finish: Rich and seamless through the finish, taking with it the light acidity in the form of gooseberry jams, backed up by vanilla cream, hay, and pear jam. There's a crack of black pepper towards the end, with the acidity perking up into the finish even as it remains well integrated through the richness of the body. With time, it's more of that vanilla cream, hay and pear compote.

My Thoughts
Really lovely Chardonnay that's rounded and accessible, not over the top and is also fresh and approachable. It's got a whole lot of body, yet shows good balance against the freshness of the acidity, where the acidity here is present but also gentle and evenly integrated with great definition. What really delighted was how much presence and stature it had, yet completely easy to get along with. It's a mouthful but packs such a textural richness, freshness and suppleness. The fruits are showcased with great definition as well, perfectly seamless and completely unto its own, once again given this beautiful life with that fresh acidity.
A textural wonderment!
Wine Review: Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder Napa Valley
Now we come to the Cabernet Sauvignon. The first of which is the 2019 vintage, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Hand harvested, the fruit was fermented in 65% concrete an 35% stainless steel, and then subsequently aged for 20 months in large old (neutral) fourdre, as well as neutral French oak barriques for 14 months.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Ruby
Aroma: Really rich and plummy, with all manners of blackcurrant jams and preserves, as well as a bright and aromatic floral note of rose petals, lavender, fresh linens, along with freshly tilled soil. It's really plush and with great sensuous depth - incredibly perfumed with such aromatic intensity, yet highly textural at the same time with this velvety suppleness. There's a little bit of a perfumed powderiness of rose scented talcum.
Taste: Medium-bodied here, super plush, great richness, also a fresh lifted quality, filled in with plums and prunes. It's rich and well saturated yet without heaviness. Velvety, it continues on to raspberries and fruit cordials. Really textural once again with this sensuousness and ample roundedness. The richness is not over the top and shows great restraint.
Finish: Alittle more chalkiness makes its way through the finish, with perfumed roses, rose jelly, as well as a brambly mix of raspberry and blackberry in the form of supple fruit preserves and berry jellies. It's seamless with an amazing textural progression through the finish, once again supple yet firm and fresh. The tannins are gentle yet firm, with lingering aromatics of roses and raspberry jellies.
My Thoughts
This was an absolutely stunning Cab Sauv! On the nose, it was sensual and supple, perfumed with vibrant floral tones and backed up by soft dark fruits. It had a most incredible depth that complemented the aromatic intensity, and was just absolutely beautiful. The palate too showed such elegance. Whilst more straightforward and fruit driven, it's plush and luscious, yet lifted. It wasn't anywhere over the top, and delivered great freshness - once again, quite the textural sensation. It was into the finish that much more complexity begin to surface, with more chalkiness and the florals making a return. Here the journey through the finish was superbly seamless, supple yet firm, with relaxed tannins that were particularly giving. It went on for quite some time with these lingering rosy aromatics as well. On the whole, it struck as being rather modern, clean and focused with great saturation, yet the freshness, aromatic intensity and textural seamlessness was remarkably impressive.
Wine Review: Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder Napa Valley
Now we take a decade and more of a step back to the 2007 vintage of Mayacamas' Cabernet Sauvignon. This is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 9% combination of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This is our first foray with the reds going back to what Bob Travers had produced. After fermentation, this was aged for a year and a half in the large old neutral foudres, and then given one more year in 60-gallon oak barrels.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Ruby
Aroma: Great depth that shows itself immediately, it's giving aromatic blackberry and raspberry preserves, along with more purity of freshly tilled soil, some clay and graphite as well, with then a potpourri of dried rose petals and dried herbs. There's a crack of black pepper as well, with also a slightly herbal element of eucalyptus. Incredibly vibrant and expressive, this is completely open by this time. Firm, concentrated, and with great depth, it's giving a perfectly seamless harmony of fruit, florals, herbs and earthiness.
Taste: Medium-bodied here, incredibly silky and plush, really smooth and well saturated. It's donning its body with perfect fit and saturation, fully expressive and displaying of its more well defined structure. Blackberry and raspberry jams and preserves fill the body, which comes in richer yet maintains that lifted quality. It's even more supple yet also simultaneously more firm and concentrated. This does come with a tad bit more heaviness. More savouriness of dried herbs, complemented with lots of firm fruit jams and rose jellies.
Finish: The blackberry, raspberries and blackcurrant cordials and jams make their way through the finish seamlessly. The tannins are firm if not a touch grippy. More perfumery of rose petals and rose jelly, with a chalky and fine powderiness into the finish. It's really rich, supple and firm throughout, with a lingering persistence of raspberry jams.
My Thoughts
The 12 year age gap from the 2019 vintage has done this great benefit, propelling it to yet another level above in terms of expressiveness, definition and concentration. From the get go this was immediately more complex with herbaceous elements coming to the fore, with the body more concentrated and rich, yet also less rounded and therefore coming off alittle more austere. It's a touch heavier yet that's hardly an issue as the precision and detail here showcases its structure perfectly. It's perfectly saturated and fits its body like a garment tailor wishes they could achieve. It's so well composed and breathtaking.
Wine Review: Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder Napa Valley
And here we do a smaller skip back to 2003, this too was of course Travers' work. The 2003 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot. This was aged for 3 years in a combination of the old neutral foudre and the smaller barriques, and then given 2 more years in bottle. It's crazy to think that the 2003 vintage was released only in 2008!
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Ruby
Aroma: Powerful perfumed aromatics of roses and makeup powder, paired with earthy aromas of freshly tilled soil, leather and some animal hide. Some barnyard comes through giving it a rusticity to it. It's completely vivid and naturalistic, with such freshness and raw purity.
Taste: Medium-bodied, super plush with such concentration and firmness. It's moderately supple with good richness and great tension. The body comes through with raspberries and blackberry paste, here not as juicy and much more concentrated. There's a touch of eucalyptus and dried herbs as well, with also an earthiness of soil. It shows great balance between the earthiness and dried fruit pastes, yet finds a way to deliver its body with a satin-y plushness.
Finish: More roses and raspberry paste comes through, with again a touch of that rustic barnyard of freshly tilled soil and animal hide. Seamless through the finish with firm, if not slightly grippy tannins, and also a crack of black pepper and lingering aromatics of leather.

My Thoughts
This displayed significantly more earthiness and rustic elements than what we've seen so far - which is honestly greatly appreciated by myself. It felt pure and raw, with this rusticity that was balanced against the more concentrated fruit pastes here. It felt like this was bringing me right to the vineyards. The fruits here are also less juicy, and have now matured substantially to produce this deep and concentrated agedness that was incredibly rugged and showed such character. Between the earthiness and the dried fruit pastes, this was remarkably expression. Again, never opulent or over the top, yet great saturation. What a statement piece that just gets you talking!
Wine Review: Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
And now we take a big step back into the 1998 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon. This was 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. This spent 20 months in the old neutral foudre and 12 more months in barriques, with finally a year in bottle before being released.
The bottle being tasted here of the 1998 vintage is a Magnum.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Ruby, Brown Rim
Aroma: Dried plums and prunes, raspberry fruit leather and all the super aromatic and perfumed potpourri and dried roses. It's got such great depth here, with also eucalyptus and dried herbs, and then more on blackcurrant and blueberry pate. There's a touch of medicinal dried herbal roots, and lacquered cigar boxes, along with some animal hide and leather. Garnishing the bouquet is more of that intense floral aromatics of lavender and scented talcum powder. It's ridiculously complex and powerfully aromatic.
Taste: Medium-bodied here, plush, more on dried fruit and fruit preserves of prunes, plums and figs, along with a spread of dried herbs, rose petals, backed up by more on blueberry and blackberry pate. There's a mustiness of gurney sacks of dried fruit, whilst not as juicy, has now developed this satin velvety texture. It's showing more concentration and age, with a notch more richness that brings alittle more weight to the body, although clearly not opulent. A light acidity is preserved, although it's less lifted this time.
Finish: Fruit pastes of plums, prunes, blackcurrants and blueberries carry through the finish. The tannins are firm and matted, almost a little grainy. There's still a good richness here with some dryness. The fruit remains concentrated and the finish still rich and plush, with a lingering note of blueberries.

My Thoughts
The age begins to really show here, with some 27 years of age. Here it learns more towards dark fruits in the form of fruit pastes, with also more of those tertiary characters of medicinal dried herbal roots, as well that mustiness of sacks of dried fruit with a touch of rancio. The body too is alittle more weighty, although some light acidity still peeks through. What was thoroughly impressive here was the aromas which were absolutely enchanting with this intense and powerful complexity of potpourri, herbs, roots, dried fruit and old wood. That coupled with the austere concentration of the body and its chiselled structure clearly shows that Mayacamas ages as well as they say it to do.
Kanpai!
@111hotpot