2019 Maybach Amoenus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa

TENTH RELEASE of Maybach Amoenus, from a hillside vineyard on Western side of Calistoga, where the moderating temperatures of the Black Mountain Gap are 10-15 degrees cooler than on the Eastern side, allowing gradual ripening and good maturation. TASTING NOTES This marks the 10th vintage we’ve worked with this site and the quality of farming has increased exponentially. All the credit goes to the team at Turnbull who made improving this site their primary mission over the last 5 years. We thought we had found the high-water mark with the 2016 but I’d place this wine (and the 2019 still in barrel) above that wine. There’s more completeness here even with the immense tannin of the vintage. This vintage grabs you from first glance with a saturated garnet/black complexion that extends to the thinnest of clear rim. The aromatics are classic high-end Cabernet with notes of cassis, creosote, saddle leather and blackberries. The tannins come up early but are quickly buffered by the sweet blue and black fruit with some savory elements of dried herbs, licorice and graphite. No longer the brutish cousin to the velvety Materium, this Amoenus deserves a stage of its own. — Thomas Brown, Winemaker