2010 Materium Cabernet Sauvignon
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Materium is a beautiful example of a wine with extraordinary purity and delineation. It possesses copious quantities of charcoal, barbecue smoke, graphite, blackberries, blueberries and creme de cassis. Full-bodied power is clearly on display, but the wine has a purity and balance that are sensational to behold. This classic Cabernet is a superstar of the vintage. There are now two Mayback cuvees. The Materium comes from a single block called the Weitz Vineyard at a 1,000 foot elevation on the eastern side of Oakville. The Amoenus comes from a Calistoga vineyard on Tubbs Lane (where Chateau Montelena is located). These wines continue to prove the exceptional efforts and quality the proprietors have achieved since I first started tasting these wines nearly a decade ago. That commitment to excellence is reflected in the fact that Maybach completely declassified both the 2011 Amoenus and Materium cuvees. www.maybachwine.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
I was very happy to have another chance to taste Maybach’s 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Materium, which was impressive from barrel, but much less interesting in finished form, either because it was still recovering from bottling or just the victim of a bad cork. Regardless, on this night, the 2010 Materium impressed with an exciting melange of dark, mineral-inflected fruit. Sweet spiced notes, lavender and pencil shavings linger on the tense, pulsating finish.
(these vines above Dalla Valle were planted in 1994): Good deep ruby-red. High-toned aromas and flavors of black fruits, licorice, pepper, baking spices and tobacco leaf; all cabernet sauvignon but has the aromatic lift of cabernet franc. Densely packed, seamless and sweet, with idiosyncratic peppery piquancy and firm acidity. Finishes with broad, building tannins and excellent length. Consulting winemaker Thomas Brown told me this bottling routinely has the lowest pH (in this case 3.55) of all the cabernets he works with.
About the producer
Founded in 2004 by Chris Maybach, Maybach Family Vineyards honors a family legacy of quality and artistry dating back over a century to the creation of the Maybach automobile. Determined to bring that same excellence to winemaking, Chris partnered with acclaimed Napa winemaker Thomas Brown.