Dalle Valle Maya 2019

Dalla Valle Vineyards er grundlagt i 1986,og er i dag drevet af Maya Dalla Valle, som har overtaget efter sin mor, Noaka, som grundlage vingården. Maya har været i lære hos kultslotte som Ornellaia, Pétrus og Château Latour. Topvinen, Maya Dalla Valle, er baseret på Cabernet Sauvignon, blended med Cabernet Franc, og er udvalgt fra de bedste plots i Napa Valley, med en jordbund med særligt højt indhold af jern.

Vinen har høstet de magiske 100P op til flere gange af Robert Parker, og har derved opnået ikonstatus. Sølle 500 kasser produceres årligt. 

Robert Parker
As fans know, Maya comes from a very special section of the estate vineyard, situated in the valley's eastern foothills, below Pritchard Hill and in the above the Oakville floor, overlooking Screaming Eagle. The blend is two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and one-third Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Maya slowly unfurls to reveal a firework display of redcurrant preserves, kirsch, boysenberries and wild blueberries, followed by iron ore, red roses, cardamom, fallen leaves and crushed rocks, with a waft of pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is stunningly graceful and refined, featuring exhilarating mineral sparks among the red and black fruits, finishing with so much brightness and energy. Breathtaking!

Jeb Dunnuck
One of the finest wines in the vintage is the 2019 Maya Proprietary Red Wine, and red wine doesn’t get any better. The usual blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc, its deep purple hue is followed by an incredible bouquet of blackcurrants, tobacco, dark chocolate, and crushed stone, which turns more floral, pretty, and complex with time in the glass. Full-bodied on the palate, it marries a rare sense of elegance and finesse with incredible intensity. It’s impossible to resist today yet merits at least 5-7 years of bottle age, and I have no doubt this beauty will still be enjoyable at age 50. Bravo!

Followers of Dalla Valle will want to check out my notes on the brand-new joint venture with Ornellaia Estate in Tuscany: DVO. The other somewhat unusual new release this year is the 2018 MDV. “In 1999 we did a cuvée for auction Napa Valley, made entirely of Cabernet Sauvignon from our Maya vineyard,” Maya said. “The first vintage produced for our clients was 2013, then 2016. We almost never do anything 100%, but I decided to pull out a little 2018 and bottle it separately again this year.” “Collina is an earlier-drinking taste of Dalla Valle—a little more affordable,” Maya commented. “We purchase a small amount of fruit from Oakville Ranch to blend with our own fruit for this label.” Altogether, this was an incredibly strong lineup of 2018s from Dalla Valle, with the Maya label/vineyard's expression of this great vintage absolutely stealing my heart. WOW!