This 2018 vintage marks the ninth release of Maybach 'Amoenus', which comes from Blossom Creek Vineyard located on the western side of Calistoga. The moderating temperatures of this vineyard located in the Black Mountain Gap are 10-15 degrees cooler than on the eastern side of the Calistoga Palisades which allows for gradual ripening and full maturation of Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown explains that “we thought we had found the high-water mark with the 2016 but I’d place this wine (and the 2019 still in barrel) above that wine. There’s more completeness here even with the immense tannin of the vintage. This vintage grabs you from first glance and the aromatics are classic high-end Cabernet with notes of cassis, creosote, saddle leather and blackberries. The tannins come up early but are quickly buffered by the sweet blue and black fruit with some savory elements of dried herbs, licorice, and graphite. No longer the brutish cousin to the velvety Materium, this Amoenus deserves a stage of its own.” 426 cases were produced.