2012 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Mt Veeder Napa Valley 750 ml

Changing of the Guard: A Mount Veeder Baton is Passed

The story of Mayacamas, one of Napa’s oldest and most acclaimed boutique wineries, begins in 1889, when a German immigrant built the facility out of stones he carved from the ground. By 1968, it had passed into the hands of Bob and Elinor Travers, who instituted a rigorous mountain protocol — hand-harvesting early, short macerations for reds, aging in old barrels. The results skyrocketed Mayacamas into fame in 1976 as their wine took 7th at the historic Judgment of Paris tasting.

2012 will mark another indelible point on the estate’s timeline: That year the wine was vinified by Travers but blended and aged by elite winemaker Andy Erickson, who would take over duties the following year.

The 50 dry-farmed acres of vines are oriented west or south for ideal ripening. Days can be blistering-hot, while nights — particularly at this soaring Mt. Veeder elevation of 1,800 to 2,400 feet — can be quite chilly. Vines up to 40 years in age spider through the rich volcanic soil of slopes so steep they require terracing.

In the dry, moderate 2012 growing season — a watershed vintage that Robert Parker called “gloriously ostentatious, charming, rich, well-balanced” — the vineyard crew began harvesting on September 10th under turquoise skies. Each row was picked at magical maturity. Berries were unusually juicy, while mountain acids and tannins remained firm.

Of the critics who have heaped praise on this Mayacamas release — James Suckling’s 94-point rave comes to mind; he pronounced it “extremely long and beautiful” — no critical appreciation captured our sentiments more than Antonio Galloni’s. “The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is shaping up to be a real beauty,” he wrote, praising it as a wine that “captures the essence of the vintage” with purity of fruit that is “simply striking.” Galloni’s scores have gone up from 92-95 to 93-96 points and we can’t wait to see how high this one lands. “This is going to be a fascinating vintage to follow over the next three decades, give or take,” Galloni wrote, and we couldn’t agree more.

Opaque purple in hue. Bright, explosive aromas of mountain blueberry, redcurrant, cherry, and pencil, framed by new-wood cedar. Rich, velour-like in texture, packed with crushed-black-fruit jam, at once dense and fabulously juicy, finishing with sturdy mountain backbone and arguing powerfully for a one- to two-decade stay in a cool cellar.

93-96 points from Galloni. 94 from Suckling. A watershed Napa vintage teed up by Mother Nature and slammed out of the park by one of California’s most legendary estates. $125 on release. Galloni has warned that Mayacamas’ prices will likely escalate rapidly going forward. At just $119 today from WineAccess, this might be one of your last shots. Shipping included on 2.