Maxville Winery

Maxville Winery. After visiting hundreds of wineries, producers and tastings rooms in Napa Valley it is rare at this stage of our wine project when we are truly inspired by a ‘new’ property for the first time (our first visit was shortly after they opened for tastings). And while under newer ownership, this property has deep historical roots in Napa Valley. It was originally part of a land grant given to pioneer Joseph Chiles in 1844 (part of 8,000 acres at the time).

In 1949 Charles Simmons (an author and speaker) purchased 1,000 acres in this part of Chiles Valley and began a summer camp for children. Later the property was acquired by Edward Keith who also owned a number of real estate properties both in Napa and beyond – including some 500 rental units in the city of Napa. Keith operated the popular Bar 49 Estate Summer Camp for children on this Chiles Valley property from the 1960s through the 1980s. Old timers still fondly remember their time on the property, riding horses, fishing and meeting other kids of similar age. And while some of their family is in Oregon there are still several Keiths in the Napa Valley – brothers Tim and Ryan Keith are both involved in the wine industry – Tim runs Leaf & Vine with a tasting room in downtown Napa.

The Keith family first planted grapes on site in 1974. In 1996 construction began on a winery called Catacula Lake, paying tribute to the lake on property as well as the name of the original land grant. Wine was made here for a number of years – before operations were closed. Some 8 years passed before the the winery was purchased in 2014 by China based Qinghai Huzhu Barley Wine Co, Ltd (Travis Li). Anthony Tsu was previously CEO and oversaw operations for the winery; he was born in Taiwan and raised both there and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Family from ownership of Qinghai Huzhu Barley Wine is also directly involved.

Today this extremely picturesque and rural slice of Napa Valley encompasses nearly 1,100 acres in Chiles Valley (about a 20-minute drive east of the Silverado Trail). Nearly 100 acres of vines are planted; they continue to replant a number of their vineyard blocks. A large portion of the property is in the Napa Valley Land Trust where no development will take place including new vineyards. While the property ranges in elevation from approximately 900 to 1200 feet – most of their vineyards are planted on the lower reaches of the property. And there are some grapevines still growing from the original planting dating from 1974.

The winery has undergone a major transformation since the purchase in 2014. The footprint of the original winery was kept but has been significantly remodeled and renovated. Long time Napa veteran and the winery’s Chief Operating Officer at the time of our first visit, David Donati oversaw this remarkable transformation, but is no longer involved at Maxville Winery. The project was started in early summer 2016 with the majority of the work completed within one year.

The winery itself features state of the art wine-making equipment – they have plenty of barrel storage; the cave is just over 20,000 square feet (incidentally one of the earlier caves dug in Napa by Nordby Wine Caves). Bordeaux born winemaker Camille Benitah (formerly of Merus) was their first winemaker. Associate Winemaker at the time of our visit, Greg Fitzgerald knew Camille prior, and he joined soon after and was an integral part of the founding winemaking team. Jean Hoefliger used produce wines here for several clients he consulted for.

In addition to production for Maxville Winery, other custom crush clients make their wines here; these clients can also use the hospitality space for hosting their own customers. The winery contains state of the art winemaking equipment including a WECO optical sorting machine and Pellenc Selectiv destemmer. Bottling occurs on site.

The hospitality center has “good Feng Shui” as David puts it. It is modern, open, with a liberal use of glass windows. In a nod to the history of Chiles Valley a special room was created in conjunction with the St. Helena Historical Society. This room originally contained a number of photographs, maps and other historical information about the region but has since been significantly downsized in regard to the historical displays and is now used as a private tasting room. Visitors are led through the building to the main tasting room that culminates with beautiful views of the hillsides and the 12-acre spring fed Maxville Lake below (which drains into Maxwell Creek). Tastings are offered both inside and outside on the patio. Use the provided telescope for a bird’s eye view of parts of the property; you may what looks like a bear on the other side of the lake. Do a double take; its not real!

With a property of this size and a diversity of terrain there are a number of experiences that are offered to guests (experiences that fall outside of a ‘normal’ Napa winery visit). Biking and hiking trails lead to exceptional views overlooking Chiles Valley and the pond offers excellent fishing, just to name a few. A floating dock experience (very unique for a Napa Valley based winery), a ride in a military Humvee are just some of the unique experiences guests can reserve. Visitors should be prepared to spend some time here for these more unique experiences; a visit to Maxville Winery is generally not a quick stop. And the property hosts an Air BnB that can be rented by guests.

A grand opening event was held in early July 2023, celebrating the opening of a sizable commercial kitchen and showcasing a variety of art curated throughout the hospitality space.

And a shoutout to the Suscol Intertribal Council. They own the 23-acre neighboring property to the south with the colorful Suskol House. Their mission is to preserve Native American traditions and culture. They host their annual art auction every November on the property.

Chiles Valley is perhaps one of the lesser known sub appellations within Napa Valley – mostly because it is not directly connected to the Napa Valley floor, there are very few physical wineries here (certainly no big name Napa wineries), there are no restaurants, it feels remote and far removed from the main part of Napa Valley (despite being a rather short drive).

With an effort on replanting and improving the quality of their vineyards over the coming years and a top wine-making team – part of their focus is to help elevate the stature of Chiles Valley – to promote the wines from this region as well as promote some of the unique experiences for visitor’s inherent to a property of this size.

Select Wines
In early 2017 Maxville Winery entered into a valuable partnership with Terlato Wines to help distribute and promote their wines. Maxville currently produces about 12,000 cases each year with the intent to continue to increase production in subsequent years, perhaps to 20,000 cases. Much of the grapes used in their production comes from the estate, although they do source fruit from select vineyards within the greater Napa Valley as needed. The focus at the time of our latest update is on four wines, a Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Petite Sirah. 2015 was the first release of a premium label – simply called Max. Their first wines date from the 2014 vintage and were crafted soon after the property was acquired.

Whites
The 2023 Maxville Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley is medium straw in color; restrained, fresh and on the leaner side of the aromatic spectrum in terms of this variety, the nose knows green apple, lemon grass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, spring florals including citrus blossom and jasmine, Meyer lemon, underripe pineapple, pineapple guava and freshly mowed lawn. Crisp but superbly balanced, this wine is singing tenor, two years post vintage. Its lively acidity provides plenty of lift, not that its texture needs it per se, as the mouth feel is not heavy, rather offers a light silky and supple feel. This wine tastes like green apple, honey dew melon, Sierra gooseberry – reminding us of these spiky little fruits we have harvested many times during backpacking trips in the high Sierra Nevada mountains, guava and a refreshing citrus zest, especially noticeable on the finish. Minerally. Think shellfish. And a view of the rugged Sonoma County coastline. Perhaps from a dinner at the Coast Kitchen at Timber Cove Resort in Jenner, CA. This wine’s ABV is a refreshing listed 13.2%.

The 2021 Maxville Estate Oranos Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is light straw in color. This wine smells floral including of honeysuckle and takes some time to fully open. It initially shows aromas of green apple but evolves to scents of pineapple. The aromas become sweeter as it opens. This wine sports a creamy texture with flavors of white peach, lemon juice and pomelo. This wine is very balanced across the entire palate. This wine was aged in stainless steel tank and then aged for 6 months in neutral French oak barrels.

The 2015 Maxville Estate Sauvignon Blanc is one of the nicer wines of this variety that we have tried in Napa. They wine making team spends considerable time on this particular wine. They pick the grapes twice – during the first pick the grapes go straight to press (whole cluster), during the second pick the grapes are allowed to sit on their skins/macerate for 24 hours after being crushed to tank. Fermentation is conducted both in concrete, stainless steel and oak barrels with aging partly in Acacia barrels (quite unique for a Napa winery). The wine is aged sur lees for 8 months with frequent battonage weekly. The 2015 vintage shows pale straw yellow in the glass – it is highly aromatic with fruit aromas of pineapple along with a variety of dessert spices and more citrus aromatics as it continues to open in the glass. The mouth feel is rounded and complemented by a vibrant acidity. Incredibly balanced. Notes of citrus linger on the finish. Drinks very well by itself.

Reds
Rosé of Zinfandel
The 2023 Maxville Estate Rosé of Zinfandel is pale copper in color. Two things about this bottle. We love the look of capsule-less flint bottles and in terms of color for whatever reason, we always gravitate to rose wines that are tones of copper rather than tones of pink. Minerally with a flinty character, the bouquet offers delicate aromas of ruby grapefruit, young kaffir lime leaf, galangal root, an aromatic and flavor we are highly familiar with and use it often in cooking Thai soups, Babcock peach, hibiscus, rose petals and a cucumber slice infused water. There is a lot more layering here than one might initially think. Balanced with a minerally attribute mimicking the bouquet, this wine tastes like white peach, white nectarine, pineapple guava, white strawberry, not fully ripe watermelon, ruby grapefruit and Rainier cherry. Its supple and silky texture carries a light but perceptible weight which is counterbalanced nicely by its vibrant acidity. This wine drinks great 2 years post vintage on a warm summer day. Drinking this now, is making us think of our raw salmon recipe we will assemble this evening, drizzled with a very spicy Thai nam prik, and fresh from the garden, thinly sliced fresh lemon grass, Vietnamese rua ram, fish mint, and thinly sliced shallots.

Zinfandel
The 2022 Maxville Estate Zinfandel, Chiles Valley Napa Valley is medium to deep ruby in color; the palate smells balanced with a sensible restraint and higher toned aromatics not associated with riper California expressions of this variety. This wine smells like spicy plum skin, dark raspberry, boysenberry, blueberry, bittersweet chocolate, a kiss of old cedar box, maybe some spice tobacco deeper in the bouquet and as the wine evolves, it opens to a note of cinnamon. On the palate there are flavors of Santa Rosa plum, dark raspberry, boysenberry and red cherries. This wine is brightly lit from its balanced and simultaneously refreshing acidity. Lingering and layering the finish are some non fruited flavors including of dried sage, dried bay leaf, crushed rocks – yes we have licked our share of rocks in the field during our gold mining forays into the upper foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and dark peppercorn (but not peppery). The fine-grained tannins are well tumbled three years post vintage and linger with a dusty feel.

The 2021 Maxville Estate Old Vine Zinfandel is medium to deep ruby in color with purplish tinges on the rim in the glass. The bouquet offers aromas of lavender, sage, blueberries, red licorice and plum. The aromatics are a pretty union of both fruit and savory. A note of mocha shows up deeper in the bouquet. It tastes fruity but is not over ripe like some versions of California Zinfandel can be. The palate offers a “Zinfandel spice”, similar to a union of clove and cardamom with primarily red fruits including cherry, dark raspberry, boysenberry and currant. This wine lingers with a note of white pepper and lightly gravelly, dark but very well integrated tannins, lingering with a light dusty character. Savory. Bright.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2021 Maxville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is deep ruby and opaque; this is a darkly fruited bouquet offering aromas of Satsuma plum, black cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry with additional layers of pipe tobacco, a hint of red chili spice, smoked cedar, pepper, dark chocolate, cloves and potting clay. There is a lot to like about these layered and generous aromatics. Juicy and bright, yet fully ripe, this wine delivers spades of red and darker fruits including plum, cherry, boysenberry, blackberry, dark mulberry and dark raspberry. Towards the finish, it reveals flavors of dried herbs including sage and bay leaf. This is a big boy, with firmly gripping, grainy and gritty tannins bouncing around, filling both every open and hidden spaces on the palate. The dusty and drying texture fully outpaces the fruit on the extended finish. For reference, we tasted this 4 years post vintage. A well marbled tri-tip and a BBQ please. At the winery, we asked for the 2022 vintage, but instead were given this vintage – perhaps to show us a truly standout bottling. Thank you. And this will be a very age-worthy wine with the proper cellar care.

The 2019 Maxville Estate Oranos Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color. The bouquet offers dark spices, herbal notes including of light green pepper, a spicy plum skin nuance and tobacco spice. We’ve had this wine several times over the years; as its aged in the glass, its herbal notes have become more restrained and its scents have become more sweetly fruited with aromas of cherry liqueur and blackberry pie. And as it opens it evolves further to a pronounced note of roasted coffee beans and coffee ice cream. This wine is balanced across the palate with a noticeable creamy texture. It offers flavors of dark plum, dark chocolate, blackberry, dark cherry and a toasted oak note which lingers on the finish. The tannins are supple and rounded but persist with an extended dusty presence. Starting to show some mature fruit flavors 6 years post vintage.

The 2017 Maxville Cabernet Sauvignon, Sacrashe Vineyard is 100% varietal. For reference we tasted this wine 8 years post vintage. Its color is deep garnet; the bouquet smells like mature and fruits including blackberry, dark plum and Himalayan purple mulberry accompanied by loads of non fruited sweet scents, I.E., chocolate brownie, dark cocoa powder, mocha, espresso and cloves. Its backbone is intensely flavored (blackberry, dark cherry, and Satsuma plum) with long lasting firmly gripping tannins. Their texture offers a fully coating grip with a grainy, gritty and persistent dusty character and a light note of dried tobacco leaf. This is a big boy in terms of its texture, at this age they show no signs of slowing down. This wine shows some maturation at this age, but retains loads of horse power for additional aging.

AEON
The 2021 Maxville Estate AEON is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a skosh of Cabernet Franc and Merlot in the blend. This wine is deep ruby in color and nearly opaque; dark fruited, this wine smells like dark cherry, blackberry pie, boysenberry jam, sweaty leather, dark cherry, dark chocolate, mocha and cocoa powder. And as fruit driven on the palate as the bouquet, this wine tastes like red plums, licorice, blackberry, dark raspberry, dark currant and mulberry. Brightly lit and intensely flavored, this wine finishes with a pronounced dusty and chalky character and dried herbs including sage and bay leaf. The tannins are firmly gripping, broadly coating, and linger beyond the fruit on the finish. This wine was named for the Greek god of infinity.

Malbec
The 2021 Maxville Estate Malbec is 100% varietal; this wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque. This is a fruity expression of the variety; its scents include dark raspberry, boysenberry, red cherry, Santa Rosa plums, currant and cranberry. Brightly lit, juicy and fresh, this wine is in a sweet spot at this age, four years post vintage. Its flavors are primarily red fruited, with flavors of cherry, plum, raspberry, boysenberry and Persian mulberry. This wine showcases the purity of the variety, with the oak a light complement, a gentle kiss if you will. This bottling doesn’t need a lot of oak in terms of texture; the tannins are firmly gripping, lingering with a persistent grainy and dusty grip far outpacing the fruit on the finish. Time this finish; you won’t be finish.

Petite Sirah
The 2014 Maxville Winery Petite Sirah shows purple pinkish tinges on the rim with a dark inky core. The nose is appealing and invites one to take a sip with aromatics of ripe blackberry, blueberry and floral notes (dried rose petal). Taking a sip is taking a mouthful of flavor; this wine is rich, layered and showcases an impressive depth of flavor. Opulent, it offers excellent acidity and earthy tannins that linger across the palate, ultimately outpacing the fruit on the finish. Of the reds we tried, this one certainly stands out for its depth of flavor and overall character.

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For more information, to purchase wines and or to schedule a visit, view their website here: www.maxvillelakewines.com

Hospitality