Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Mayacamas Vineyards 2004 Chardonnay  (Mount Veeder)

Mayacamas Vineyards

2004 Chardonnay
(Mount Veeder ~ Napa Valley)



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.




Other reviewed wines from Mayacamas Vineyards

 

The Wine

Winery: Mayacamas Vineyards
Vintage: 2004
Wine: Chardonnay
Appellation: Mount Veeder ~ Napa Valley
Grape: Chardonnay
Price: 750ml $35.00

Review Date: 8/23/2007

The Reviewer

Alan Goldfarb

Alan Goldfarb has been writing about and reviewing wine for 17 years. His reviews have been published in the St. Helena Star, San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Examiner, Decanter, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Not once has he used a point system, star system, or an iconic symbol to quantify a wine. What counts in Mr. Goldfarb’s criteria when judging a wine is: how it tastes in the glass; is it well-constructed; its food compatibility; and presence of redeeming regional attributes.