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Tasting notes
Violets, liqourice, fennel, grilled baking spice, sinewy tannins laced with cocoa bean and black chocolate. This was a vintage that had rain but also heat and things are concentrated if a little abrupt on the finish. Great stuff. 70% new oak for ageing. Naoko Dalla Valle and Andy Erikson winemakers, with Maya Dalla Valle returning to the family estate in this vintage. First vintage with a new winery building, also, and replanting of 3 acres on the north side of the property.
Critic scores
Average Score
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Maya, 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet in color. A little closed and broody to start, it soon unfurls to reveal notes of fresh blackberries and mulberries leading to wafts of underbrush, dusty soil, dried herbs, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is elegantly styled and refreshing, with lightly chewy tannins and a long earthy finish.
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Franc. From the estate’s vineyard in the eastern hills of Oakville. Aged for 21 months in French oak and bottled without fining or filtration. Opaque purple colour. Opulent cassis and kirsch on the nose, with a fair hit of spice from the oak. Succulent but persistent tannins on the palate give a generous mouthfeel. Roasted blackberry, vanilla bean and a hint of tar through the mid-palate. The fruit is impressive but the alcohol hits a little too hard at the moment. Hedonistic. (TP)
The tiny production 2017 Maya is another thrilling wine. The normal blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in two-thirds new French oak, it offers a full-bodied, concentrated, yet sensationally elegant style as well as fab notes of crème de cassis, chocolate, graphite, and scorched earth. It’s a primordial example of this cuvée that has ripe tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and a great, great finish. Do your best to give bottles 4-6 years of bottle age.
About the producer
Dalla Valle Vineyards was founded in 1986 by Naoko and her late husband Gustav Dalla Valle, in Oakville. Initially they had wanted to create a luxury resort, but when they discovered the potential of the site, they changed tack and decided to make wine.