Maybach, 'Amoenus' Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, 2021

Overview of the Wine
From humble beginnings as a trainee in a German orphanage, Wilhelm Maybach came to invent the high-speed internal combustion engine which led to his creation of the first motorcycle. In 1901, as chief engineer and business partner to Gottlieb Daimler, he designed and built the first Mercedes cars. In later years, Wilhelm's son, Karl Maybach, developed the first high-speed diesel engine and constructed motors for the Zeppelin airships that circled the globe in the 1920's and 30's.
In 2002, Daimler AG revitalized the Maybach brand in recognition of the father and son who together played such a monumental role in defining German engineering.

100 years later, the name Maybach remains synonymous with quality at the finest level. The tradition of individuality and craftsmanship established by the Maybach ancestors, the winery continues to honor with with its hand-made wines.

Winemaker: Thomas Brown

Grape / Blend
100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
TWELFTH RELEASE of Maybach Amoenus, from a hillside vineyard on the western side of Calistoga, where the moderating temperatures of the Black Mountain Gap are 10-15 degrees cooler than on the western side, allowing gradual ripening and good maturation.

The vineyard site from where this fruit is sourced each year is its own little pocket valley in northwest Calistoga. When you leave the main road and meander down the gravel driveway, you’re surrounded by rolling hills, sprawling ancient oak trees. Once you gain the ridgeline and drop back down towards our block, you are greeted by the biggest oak of them all, a gatekeeper of this micro-valley. This same sense of sprawling natural grandeur is found in the 2021 Maybach Amoenus.

The wine balances velvety, plush black fruit and elegantly defined structure. The aromas jump from the glass in waves but stay very precise. Flavor here is both deep and broad which speaks to the completeness of the wine at this early stage. The wine is inky and layered with classic varietal notes of cassis, blackberries, grilled bread, creosote and spring flowers. With a few hours in the decanter or a few years in the cellar, one will discover the deepest secrets this wine has to offer. - Thomas Brown

97+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the 2021s I was able to taste from Maybach, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Amoenus is flat-out brilliant and has a layered, perfumed, almost exotic style in its black and blue fruits as well as spicy, floral, incense, orange blossom, and gravelly earth-like aromas and flavors. It shows the concentrated yet vibrant, focused style of the vintage, has full-bodied richness, beautiful tannins, and a gorgeous finish. This powerful, structured, incredibly impressive Cabernet Sauvignon deserves 4-5 years in the cellar and will evolve for two decades at a minimum.

95 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a cool pocket in otherwise warm Calistoga, Maybach's 2021 Amoenus Cabernet Sauvignon features aristocratic notes of crushed stone, cassis, black cherries and cedary overtones. A marked contrast to the sumptuous, seductive 2019, the 2021 is also full-bodied and concentrated but with a firm structure and plentiful tannins. It's even rather stern at this stage of its development but should be fine with some time in the cellar.

Product size: 750ml