Maxem is the personal project of Sam and Nancy Kaplan. Sam, in his winemaking career, has been on the ground floor of some of Napa Valley’s most exciting wine projects in recent history (including Arkenstone, Memento Mori, and Vangone), helping to plant vineyards, build wineries and cement reputations with wines that speak of the unparalleled sites in which they’re grown. Nancy, as a chef, spent years in top restaurants in New York and Napa Valley, honing her craft and her palate beside celebrated chefs who demanded nothing less than perfection.
In Latin, MAXEM has the distinction of meaning "best of the best." It also combines the proprietors' two children's names, Max and Emma. Hence, for this wine, nothing but the best vineyard would suffice...enter Ulisis Valdez. Ulises was an immigrant who worked for others for decades before striking out on his own. He namaged to find a parcel that he felt would produce some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the entirety of the Sonoma Coast. He was right, as the fruit from his vineyard has produced some of the highest scoring wines ever to come out of Sonoma! this Chardonnay is produced from the famed Wente clone of Chardonnay, grown on the UV property.
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 96 POINTS - "The 2021 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard was matured for 15 months in Remond, Taransaud and Chassin oak barrels. It takes some time to shake off flinty tones and reveal wild berry preserves, burnt orange peel and forest floor aromas, continually unfurling as it airs in the glass. The medium-bodied palate offers highly concentrated, detailed flavors ranging from bitters to earth. It has abundant, grainy tannins, a bright spine of acidity and a very long, layered finish. It will be long lived in the cellar. 220 cases produced."
In Latin, MAXEM has the distinction of meaning "best of the best." It also combines the proprietors' two children's names, Max and Emma. Hence, for this wine, nothing but the best vineyard would suffice...enter Ulisis Valdez. Ulises was an immigrant who worked for others for decades before striking out on his own. He namaged to find a parcel that he felt would produce some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the entirety of the Sonoma Coast. He was right, as the fruit from his vineyard has produced some of the highest scoring wines ever to come out of Sonoma! this Chardonnay is produced from the famed Wente clone of Chardonnay, grown on the UV property.
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 96 POINTS - "The 2021 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard was matured for 15 months in Remond, Taransaud and Chassin oak barrels. It takes some time to shake off flinty tones and reveal wild berry preserves, burnt orange peel and forest floor aromas, continually unfurling as it airs in the glass. The medium-bodied palate offers highly concentrated, detailed flavors ranging from bitters to earth. It has abundant, grainy tannins, a bright spine of acidity and a very long, layered finish. It will be long lived in the cellar. 220 cases produced."
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