Dalla Valle Maya Napa Valley 2018

As a growing season, 2018 was sensational. From the first cherries in the early spring, to the last apples and pears of the late summer, every fruit and vegetable was intense in flavor, and generous in yield. This always bodes well for the wines from the season. The grapes from our estate vineyard in Oakville developed beautifully all season long, with a slow, steady build in color and aromatics, and a uniform maturing of tannins in the end. The result is a lineup of wines that is distinctive, dense, and highly polished. The rounded edges make the wines accessible in their youth, but the real payoff will come with bottle age, given the massive structure and concentration.

The signature blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from our estate in Oakville, Maya is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Both of these varieties thrive on the iron-rich, rocky soils in the eastern hills of Oakville. Our aim is to find the right combination between the “Maya Block” of Cabernet Sauvignon, which consistently produces the most compelling wine on the estate, with Cabernet Franc growing in adjacent blocks, which adds a new and exciting dimension to the wine. The 2018 vintage fermented and aged without intervention and bottled without filtration. We feel that these low-impact winemaking techniques, along with organic and biodynamic farming practices, bring added life to the wine. The profile of the wine is buttoned-up but complex, showing notes of Bing cherry, clove, pencil lead and gravel, in addition to hints of bay leaf and vanilla. The list of descriptors continues to grow with time in the glass, and the intensity on the palate makes it clear that this will go down as one of the vintages of the decade.

RP: 100

TP: 99