Mayacamas Vineyards

The last Mayacamas Chardonnay I recommended on this site was Bob Travers’ 2000 that was re-released last year. It showed only a slight bit of oxidation, which is expected from an older Chardonnay; but which only adds complexity to the wine. Travers’ ’01 Chardonnay, re-released this year, shows a bit too much oxidation and is on the decline. But the latest release (Travers’ wines are usually held-back, a lost practice in California, because they are almost all long-lived), the 2004, will hold up for about five more years, which will be shorter-lived than the ‘00.

The latest Chardonnay from this European-style American winemaker, from his 2,000-foot high, dry-farmed vineyard, is still holding in its essence. But on the palate it’s beautifully balanced with some elegance and lemon-lime zest undertones. Hold onto it for a couple of years and than drink it through about 2012.

The oak regimen for Travers’ Chardonnays are usually the same year-to-year. It’s held in 1,000-gallon American oak tanks for six months and then placed in smaller, mostly used, French oak barrels for another year without malolactic fermentation or sur-lie aging. The stated alcohol is a bit higher than usual, creeping up to 14.5 percent. There were just over 1,000 cases produced.

Reviewed August 23, 2007 by Alan Goldfarb.