2018 Dalla Valle Maya

Founded in 1982 by Naoko and Gustav Dalla Valle, the winery is located about 240 meters above the Silverado Trail and offers excellent views of the landscape. In the early 1980s, people in Napa Valley were amazed at Naoko's visionary idea of planting the vines against the hills. Today some of California's finest wines are produced here. As early as 1992, Dalla Valle's cabernet sauvignon received 100 Parker points. It was the second California wine to receive this perfect score.

The Dalla Valle 'Maya' Napa Valley comes from the eponymous block of the vineyard and has a high proportion of cabernet franc: 33%. The remaining 67% is Cabernet Sauvignon. The harvest took place between the end of September and the beginning of October and was done by hand. The grapes were carefully sorted, destemmed and slowly fermented until they matured for over two years in the best French wooden barrels.

The 'Maya is surrounded by an aura of perfection, although he is still very young. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc cuvée shows fantastic complexity and an almost magical harmony of power and finesse. On the nose, the wine offers a very dense dark fruit of cassis and red cherries, blueberries, pomegranates and blood orange, milk chocolate, tobacco, menthol and mocha, as well as a spicy fragrance cloud. All this is accompanied by a slightly reductive note of flint and the best wood.

In the mouth, fine, silky and polished tannins appear. In addition, a perfectly integrated, lively and mineral tartaric acid and a ripe and elegant fruit bouquet. These different aspects merge seamlessly and pile up towards the endless finale. The wine continues to grow, only getting stronger and more subtle. What a balance and what a great experience, already! How big will this wine be after decades of aging?

This vintage has been awarded the iconic score of 100/100 points and the review ends with: " ......this Maya is simply jaw-dropping"