2019 Mayacamas Chardonnay
2019 Mayacamas Chardonnay, Chardonnay from Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley, California
Winemaker Notes: The 2018 Mayacamas Chardonnay is lively and fresh, featuring acacia blossom, lemon zest, marzipan, and green pear notes underpinned by lingering salinity. A firm acid backbone will make for a mouthwatering finish over the next 15 years.
Wine Enthusiast 96pts: Made from decades-old dry-farmed vines planted to the Wente clone in rocky, volcanic soils, this is a stunning wine, flinty, fleshy and expansive, with undeniable minerality. Lemon zest, meringue and pear contrast against persistent acidity and a lasting briny tone that lifts the palate further.
James Suckling 94pts: Mayacamas always delivers such focused and well-crafted chardonnay like this with cooked-apple, pear, light vanilla and seashell character on the palate. It’s tight and super integrated with a tight, creamy palate that goes on for minutes. Serious structure. Mayacamas always delivers such focused and well-crafted chardonnay like this with cooked-apple, pear, light vanilla and seashell character on the palate. It’s tight and super integrated with a tight, creamy palate that goes on for minutes. Serious structure.
Founded in 1889, Mayacamas stands as one of the most storied vineyard and winery operations in the history of American wine. Through its more than 125 years of production, Mayacamas has earned its place as a standard-bearer of traditional winemaking, and the source of some of California’s most iconic and longest-lived bottles.
Named for mountain range that divide the Napa and Sonoma valleys, the old stone winery was dug into the side of a dormant volcano crater in 1889 and has remained in production ever since. For generations, methods and tools have been passed from owner to owner, and the Mayacamas style has remained remarkably consistent.
Centered at the peak for which it is named, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. But even though the entire appellation spreads over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover a mere 1,000. Scattered among Douglas firs and bristlecone pines, Mount Veeder vineyards extend south from the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountains—the highest point at 2,400 feet—to the border of the Carneros region. Less than 25 wineries produce wine from Mount Veeder fruit.
Rocky volcanic clay and ancient seabed matter dominate Mount Veeder soils—perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot enjoy spectacular success. These varieties produce wines rich in brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit with herbal and floral aromatics. Structures are moderate to assertive and wines have great staying power.
Chardonnay from Mount Veeder is lush, full and balanced mineral and fresh citrus flavors.
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