Two from Mayacamas

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | FEBRUARY 27, 2023

It’s always a pleasure to spend time at Mayacamas. As much as I enjoy tasting today’s current releases, it is also a great deal of fun to go back and revisit wines made by Bob Travers before he sold the winery. These two Cabernets will delight Mayacamas fans.

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is a potent, heady wine. Dark fruit, plum, mocha, licorice, gravel and incense are all amplified. At 13 years of age, the 2009 retains tons of baby fat and intensity. I would consider cellaring it for a few years, as there is a lot of wine here. This unctuous, flamboyant style is a bit shocking to be honest, and yet it works so well. 96/Drink 2022-2043.

The 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon is a fine choice for readers looking for a Mayacamas Cabernet to drink now. It offers gorgeous aromatic complexity and good depth for the year. There is a bit of edginess in the tannin, and the edges are starting to fray, so I don't see the 2000 improving from here, although it certainly has plenty of life left. Harvest wrapped on October 19, very late by the estate's standards. 94/Drink 2022-2032.

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