Thunder Mountain Winery

Thunder Mountain produces the following varietals: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Read the reviews...

Wine Spectator, April 30, 2000
Thunder Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, Bates Ranch 1997 – 91 points. Very dark and ripe, a high-extract style with layers of rich stewed plum, wild berry, cherry and spice. Packs a full load of fruit and oak.

Thunder Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Cienega Valley Miller Vineyards Doc’s 1997 – 90 points.Strives for complexity with its deep color and lavish oak. Teeters on going overboard, with very ripe, rich, plush currant, black cherry, stewed plum and berryish notes.

Wine Enthusiast, July 2000
Thunder Mountain 1998 Merlot (Cienega Valley) - 88 points. Winemaker Milan Maximovich has crafted a supple, charming wine from this unheralded appellation. Bouncy cherry-berry fruit is accented by some dried-herb notes, uncluttered by much new-wood influence.

Wine Spectator, July 1, 1999
Thunder Mountain Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Bald Mountain Vineyard 1997 – 93 points. Complex earth tones have honey, fig, melon, herb and pear notes. This full-bodied wine pulls no punches, delivering gobs of flavor couched in plush oak. The finish is long and seductive. A big, beautiful wine.

Wine Enthusiast, July, 1999
Thunder Mountain 1997 Bald Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) – 92 points. An unfiltered whopper (15.1% alcohol), it’s also unfined. Literally cloudy in the glass - closer to amber than greenish gold in color. Toasted beyond belief. Almost impossible to consider it a sipping wine, it cries out for wild fowl like partridge or pheasant. What a finish.

Thunder Mountain 1997 Ciardella vineyard Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) – 92 points. Buttered popcorn and toasted nuts dominate the nose of this wine, but there’s plenty of ripe, pear-tinged fruit to bolster those scents and provide depth. Rich, full-bodied and viscous in the mouth, yet it doesn’t feel heavy, as well-balanced acidity provides backbone and extends the long, spicy finish.

Thunder Mountain 1996 Bates Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Cruz Mountains) - 92 points. This is red wine’s version of hearty health food - it’s unfined and unfiltered, and you will know it right away. Concentrated beyond all get out, it has laser-beam intensity, but with pleasant soft tannins. Thunderous with Thor-like strength, the sensual side of this monster Cab is what tops the cake. One to keep an eye on.

Wine Enthusiast Special Holiday Buying Guide, 1999
Thunder Mountain 1997 Bald Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains – 92 points. The picture on the label of Thor is a fair representation of the scale of this wine. Huge, with enticing nutty and toasty aromas, and pear and baked-apple flavors. Pushes the envelope, but holds together as it does.
Wine Spectator July 31, 1998

Thunder Mountain Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Matteson Vineyard 1996 - 92 points. Brilliant yellow in color, this wine is brimming with ripe, rich, complex flavors of pear, honey, butter and toasty vanilla, with spicy anise and yeasty notes on the finish.
Thunder Mountain Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Bald Mountain Vineyard 1996 - 91 points. Well oaked and unctuous, this wine is redolent of butterscotch, melon, menthol, peach and pear. It’s complex ad elegant, full-bodied and powerful. The finish is long and smooth.

Posted to the Internet by Victor de la Serna,
Writer for London’s Decanter Magazine and Others
...This said, I have tasted on this occasion a few world-class wines from Santa Cruz: Milan's Star Ruby, which is simply superb (very great complexity and balance in a wine built for the future)....

Stanford, a Publication of the Stanford Alumni Association, Sept./Oct. 1998
Milan Maximovich, Gr. ’63. For the past few years, from his aerie above Santa Cruz, Maximovich has quietly been producing ultra-premium chardonnays and cabernets at his small winery, Thunder Mountain. Though not widely available, these are subtle, complex, elegant wines, well worth the hunt it may take to find them.

LOCATION
PO Box 3969
Santa Cruz, CA 95063

TELEPHONE
(831) 439-8716

WEBSITE
Thunder Mountain Winery

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