Maybach Family Vineyards

Maybach Family Vineyards was founded in 2004 by Chris Maybach; Thomas Rivers Brown has been the winemaker since the inaugural vintage. Prior to his role in Maybach Family Vineyards, Chris graduated from the University of California Berkeley and later attended film school in London. But he dropped out of film school to work on director Stanley Kubrick’s highly acclaimed film, Full Metal Jacket. He even had a small role in this film as one of the recruits in the platoon in Vietnam. He developed a well-respected career in Hollywood as an editor and producer, working in Los Angeles and San Francisco with some of the best in the business including Napa Valley winery owner, Francis Ford Coppola. In 2002 he directed Art City 3: A Ruling Passion, a short documentary about the art scene in New York City in the 1990s.

This brand is named in homage to family; Wilhelm and his son Karl Maybach were both innovators and leaders in the early automotive history. Wilhelm was an orphan from Germany who later invented the high-speed internal combustion engine; this technology led to the development of the world’s first gasoline powered motorcycle. And in 1901, racing legend Emil Jellinek chose Maybach to build 36 custom designed race cars. Jellinek’s instructions included input on design, but also instructions that the cars be named after his daughter, Mercedes. And Wilhem was responsible for the placement of the engine under the hood in front of the driver. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit in 1996.

And Karl’s contributions to the world of automobiles was equally as impressive; he developed the first high-speed diesel engine and built motors for Zeppelin airships. And highly relevant to Maybach Family Vineyards, Karl founded Maybach car company. In 2002 Daimler AG (now known as Mercedes-Benz Group AG) began producing a line of Maybach automobiles. Mercedes-Benz continues to produce these. And the only dedicated museum on the planet to the Maybach automobiles is the Maybach Museum located in Neumarkt, Germany.

Winemaker
Thomas Brown is one of the busiest wine makers in Napa Valley. Several producers have shown us lists of all the Napa brands that he consults for and or provides direct winemaking services; this is an extensive list. He is from Sumter, South Carolina and developed an interest in wine while attending the University of Virginia where his major was not wine related (he studied English and Economics).

He moved to Napa Valley in 1996 and took a job at All Seasons in Calistoga. This restaurant was known for its California cuisine, wine selection and long time in business – but unfortunately permanently closed in 2020. While there, Thomas met winemaker Ehren Jordan who was working for Larry Turley at the time of Turley Wine Cellars. Thomas worked with Ehren in the cellar at Turley in 1997; he spent several years there before beginning his own career and starting to consult for various clients, including some clients that Ehren was already working with.

And within only 10 years of making wine in Napa Valley, Thomas received two 100-point scores from Robert Parker; regardless of what your perception is of scores, creating several wines within a short period of time that receive 100 points from Parker was a watershed moment in Thomas’s consulting career.

Today Thomas is highly sought after for his winemaking services, experience and access to premium area vineyards. And while he was once the student, over the years he has become the teacher. We have met with a number of winemakers who worked under Thomas – and consider him one of their mentors. These are winemakers who have gone on to establish their own brands or consult for other Napa Valley based brands.

Select Wines
Rosé
The Maybach Chardonnay, Rosé of Pinot Noir and Pinot Noir are sourced from Chris’s home 1-acre vineyard near Occidental in Sonoma County. From his property on a clear day, one can see the Pacific Ocean. This site is highly maritime influenced.

The 2024 Maybach Roseira Rosé of Pinot Noir, Imrgard Vineyard Estate Sonoma Coast is pale copper in color; minerally, chalky and citrusy, this wine ‘breathes brightness’. Its scents include ruby grapefruit, citrus blossom, young kaffir lime leaf, guava, passion fruit, raspberry, wild strawberry, cranberry, a delicate rose petal perfume and white pomegranate arils. Equally as bright on the palate as on the bouquet, its flavors include an orange zest, tangerine, cranberry, raspberry, ruby grapefruit (without the sometimes pithy or bitter character sometimes associated with that citrus) and white peach. Its listed ABV is 13.6%. Superbly balanced, this wine drinks well by itself a year post vintage. We are tasting this on a cold December day, but we wish we were enjoying this in early May in the company of a spring salad. Chris’s daughter Muriel created the image for this wine. The name Roseira refers to the Portuguese song, Chovendo Na Roseira, (meaning raining on the rosebush) by singers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina. This wine was produced both by saignée with a bit of the finished wine blended in for concentration and color.

Chardonnay
The 2023 Maybach Chardonnay Irmgard Vineyard Estate, was made entirely from the Robert Young clone of this variety planted in 2008. Budwood came from the nearby Theriot Vineyard in Occidental, West Sonoma AVA at an elevation of 850 feet ABSL, only about 5 miles as the crow flies from the Pacific Ocean. And out here, vines must be planted on the upper hillsides; its just too cold for the fruit to ripen at the lower elevations. This wine is deep gold in color; its ripe but bright aromatics include golden delicious apple, apricot, yellow peach, papaya, vanilla, chalk and a saline character. This wine tastes like loquat, mandarin, golden delicious apples, golden kiwi, honeydew melon and lemon juice. Lingers bright and mouth watering. It posseses a waxy, briny texture, lifted high by its vibrant and invigorating acidity. This wine drinks well by itself but if we were to pair it with something it would be from the sea and have two shells. Its listed ABV is 14.1%.

Pinot Noir
The 2023 Maybach Irmgard Pinot Noir, Vineyard Estate, West Sonoma AVA. This wine is a blend of both Calera and Swan clones. This wine is medium ruby in color; the bouquet immediately smells elegant with its focus on its fruit rather than any ‘sweat’ or overt spices. Its scents include cherry cola, sarsaparilla, raspberry, dried rose petals, a kiss of dried herbs and a lingering note of white pepper and Tonka bean (look that one up if you are not familiar with it). Its flavors include dark raspberry, a rose stem character first described to us by Opus One winemaker Michael Silacci, and a finishing and persistent savory edge including pink peppercorn, dried sage and dried bay leaf. Soft in terms of texture, the tannins are like a comforting kiss from a loved one, seamlessly integrated in the finish. And both flavor and texture are accompanied by a vibrant acidity. Fresh and focused, we would love to try this again in 5-10 years.

The 2017 Maybach Irmgard Pinot Noir, Vineyard Estate, West Sonoma AVA is the inaugural vintage of this bottling. For reference, we needled and nosed this bottling 8 years post vintage. Its color has transitioned from its youthful hues to a medium brick red at this age. Its aromatics have started to show some light bottle maturation; these still brightly lit and savory scents include cherry cola, raspberry, currant, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried rose petals, root beer, rhubarb, Tonka bean, dried bay leaf, dried sage, cigar wrapper, mushroom and as it evolves further, a light note of vanilla. The aromatic depth at this age is highly compelling. There are still plenty of primary fruits expressed on the palate; these include red cherry, currant, cranberry, raspberry and pomegranate (without the pithy character) along with rhubarb. A bright and refreshing, but balanced acidity complements the softer textural profile. The tannins fit snugly like a baseball in a baseball mitt, lingering with a silky smooth texture in tandem with the fruit. This wine shows in a sweet spot at this age. Pair with smoked ham and a special occasion. The photograph on the front label is of sister, Irmgard and Marianne Maybach from the 1920s with this image captured by their father, Karl Maybach.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2023 Amoenus (pronounced as ah-meenus) Vineyard, Calistoga Napa Valley (100% varietal) is sourced from a vineyard owned by Turnbull Vineyard accessed from Highway 128 north of the town of Calistoga. Like all the Maybach Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings, color is never an issue. This wine is deep ruby and completely opaque; the ripe bouquet offers a harmonious interplay of both darker fruits and sweet baking spices from its time in barrel. This wine smells like blackberry, boysenberry, dark raspberry, sweet tobacco spice, mocha, baker’s chocolate, cinnamon stick and cardamom. Fully mouth coating in terms of its darker fruit profile, this wine tastes like blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry, dark mulberry and dark chocolate. At this age, two years post vintage, the present tannins are noticeable but never dominate. Cozy, their textural feel is chalky and lightly drying. This wine is already superbly balanced in its youth. The image on the front label is a chalk drawing by artist Bob Johnson of the front door of the original Maybach factory in Germany. This name Amoenus is Latin for, ‘landscape of the mind’. The first vintage of this wine was in 2009; regardless of vintage this bottling is always from the same vineyard.

The 2023 Maybach Materium, Weitz Vineyard Oakville Napa Valley; is deep ruby and opaque. The bouquet is an interplay of ripe and darker fruits and barrel influence. Its aromatics include dark cherry and blackberry. We love the non fruited scents at play here including mocha, roasted coffee beans showing more of a burnt expression as this wine evolves, espresso, milk chocolate and a light note of old cedar box. And these attributes are well represented and mimicked on the palate. This is softer expression in terms of both fruit, acidity and texture; this wine tastes like dark cherry, baked blackberry, dark mulberry and dark plum. The broadly dispersed fully ripe tannins are felt more on the front of the palate; gravelly and well-tumbled, their texture persists with a light drying character. Its barrel influences are pronounced in this bottle.

This vineyard is located on the Oakville Bench in volcanic iron-rich soils. The grapes grow in a bowl, offering some protection in the afternoon from the sun. Thomas had never visited the property before but when Chris told him about having access to this site, Thomas quickly encouraged him to secure the grapes. The name Materium is Latin for ‘earthly realm’. And for this SKU only, a limited number bottles are produced as 375ml for restaurants.

The 2023 Vocabulum Cabernet Sauvigon (100% varietal), St. Helena Napa Valley is from the original David Abreu Thorevelios Vineyard (now known as Ecotone Vineyard) farmed by Bettinelli Vineyard Management Company. This wine is deep ruby with purple tinges and very much opaque; the bouquet is loaded with aromatic layers, with fruit outplaying barrel influences. Its breath is dark blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry, raspberry jam and Satsuma plum with additional layers of dark chocolate, dark cocoa powder and sweet tobacco spice. A powerhouse bottling, this wine offers loads of layering, textural density, and memory imprint. Darker fruited on the palate, like the bouquet, this wine sports flavors of blackberry, dark plum, blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate, roasted coffee beans and mocha. The tannins in this expression are larger shaped, and while tumbled still retain some of their edgy/dusty characters at this age. Drink now or cellar for next 10-20 years. The term vocabulum refers to ‘sum of experience’ in Latin. The label is an image called Eon (with the letters spelled out in the visual) by artist Nil Barn with the creative liberty done by Bob Johnson. The primary colors used in this image represent a healthy pond including yellow and green. The first vintage of Vocabulum was in 2019.

Hospitality
Royal We Wines, 929 Main Street, St. Helena
In mid July 2025 the brands who were previously housed at 810 Foothill Boulevard in Calistoga moved into the space at 929 Main Street in the southern part of St. Helena (almost across from Merryvale Winery). In early December 2025, Maybach’s wines were added to the list of brands who taste and sell their wines here. Tastings of the Maybach wines are exclusively by prior reservation and are hosted privately in the ‘Maybach Room’ at Royal We Wines. In addition to currant vintage bottlings, pre-release wines and a rotating selection of library wines are also available. Chris’s sister Charlotte Schmid-Maybach is an artist; one of her paintings is on display and for sale in this room.

This space was previously occupied by Bello Family Vineyards followed by a tasting room for Yao Ming’s wines starting in February 2016. In 2020 this tasting room closed permanently, and Yao Family wines vacated the building. Following a period of vacancy the building was for a short while home to Vine Star, a wine and espresso bar. The owner of Vine Star, Jay was involved with the Yao Ming brand and as a result, for a short while, visitors were able to still taste select Yao Ming wines here. In late 2023, the Vine Star sign was removed from the exterior of the building and the building was vacated.

In 1950s and 1960s this address used to be home to Mobil Super Service, a full service automobile service center including for tires and batteries. The business was later known as Penland’s Service. By the 1970s and 1980s the business was operated by Bob and Randy Penland and in addition to auto care, the business was also providing service for lawn mowers and other related garden care. And by the early 1990s the business was known as St. Helena Petroleum.

Royal We Wines is a collective that showcases wines from several brands for which Thomas Rivers Brown is the winemaker. The amount of generations within Napa Valley represented by these brands is impressive. The name is the LLC for Caterwaul Wines; this name originally began as a joke between Matt Hardin and Thomas Brown; when celebrating 100 point scores they would refer to themselves as the “royal we”. But in terms of hospitality, ‘royal we’ is exclusively referred to as their customers.

The interior was softly remodeled and muted slightly from its previous opulent and flashy look. Visits for the non Maybach wines are either by walk-in or appointment, with tastings hosted at the oval bar or in a private room adjoining the main space. Tastings can include a flight showcasing at least one wine from all of the producers or flights highlighting wines from one of the producers. Each of the brands may also taste their clients on their own wines using this space.

Several parking spaces are located in front of the tasting room including a handicapped space. Overflow parking is located in a lot adjacent and on the south side of the tasting room.

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The Maybach wines are well distributed in California, North Carolina and New York and numerous vintages are often sold through a diversity of online retailers. Locally one can sometimes find select vintages at Wine Country Connection in Yountville, ACME in St. Helena or through Aabalat Fine Wines in Petaluma. And the wines are available at a number of fine restaurants in the region including The French Laundry, Auberge du Soleil and Press. Maybach rarely shows their wines at tasting; we have seen them pouring at the annual Napa Valley Wine Library tasting held in April, usually at Silverado Resort.

Total annual production is around 1,100 cases. For more information, to join the wait list for access to their mailing list or to schedule a tasting at Royal We Wines in St. Helena, visit: www.maybachwine.com