Maybach Family Vineyards Materium (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2008

Professional Ratings

• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2008 Materium comes from a single block called the Weitz Vineyard at a 1,000-foot elevation on the eastern hillsides of Oakville. It would be hard to improve upon the virtually perfect 2007, but the 2008 is not far behind. Notes of graphite, blueberry, charcoal, spring flowers, and some background oak are followed by a dense, purple-colored wine with full-bodied power, great elegance, precision, and purity. This is again an extraordinary effort from Maybach. It should drink well for 20-25 years.
• 95 Wine Enthusiast
  A powerful, concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. Impressive for the sheer density of fruit, namely blackberries, cherries and chocolate, accented with buttery, caramelized new oak perfectly in keeping with the wine’s volume. The tannins are soft, sweet and intricate. Despite the richness, There’s a firm minerality that adds to the structure and grounds it. So opulently delicious, you could drink it now, and it should develop in the bottle over the next six years, at least.
• 94 Wine Spectator
  Firm, dense, tannic and chewy, but with a wealth of flavors and nuances, showing black licorice, graphite, blueberry, charcoal, currant and spice character. Full-bodied and very tight in a good way, as the flavors are slow to unravel. Best from 2013 through 2021.
• 94 International Wine Cellar
  Bright red-ruby. Cherry, tobacco and minerals on the nose, lifted by a floral quality that reminded me of cabernet sauvignon. Lush and sweet but also lively and perfumed, with a strong rose petal element and firm acidity enlivening the red fruit flavors. This captivating, juicy wine really saturates the mouth and lingers on the aftertaste. Winemaker Thomas Brown noted that it has the lowest pH ("3.6 at the most") of all the cabernets he makes for his various clients.