1999 Dalla Valle Maya

The 1999 Maya includes a big chunk of Cabernet Franc (45%) and is a richer, more layered wine compared to the Estate Cabernet. Beautiful red currants, cassis, dried earth, lead pencil, and an Haut Brion-like graphite and mineral component all flow to a full-bodied red that’s drinking spectacularly well today. As with the Estate Cabernet, I’d drink bottles over the coming decade, but it will evolve longer as well.

In 1999 Naoko Dalla Valle made a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon from her Maya blocks as special bottling that was sold in a charity auction and never commercially released. The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Maya possesses striking nuance, clarity and delineation from start to finish. Freshly cut flowers, dark red stone fruits, mint and crushed rocks all jump from the glass. The pedigree and sheer profoundness of this great Oakville site comes through in a wine that captivates all the senses with an interplay of aromas and flavors that dazzles. What a pleasure and privilege it is to taste this utterly magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted next to the Maya, the Cabernet Sauvignon Maya comes across as more complex. Historically, Dalla Valle has been considered a great site for the Cabernet Franc that is such a big part of Maya, but tasting the Cabernet Sauvignon inevitably leads to a simple question: What if it is the Maya blocks that are profound, more so than the Cabernet Franc itself? So far, 1999 is the only vintage in which Dalla Valle has produced a Cabernet Sauvignon Maya. Even today, the 1999 is flat-out stunning.

The virtually perfect 1999 Maya is a wine of stupendous unctuosity, richness, fruit, and elegance. It is remarkable that the Cabernet Franc grown in these red volcanic soils can produce wines of such intensity as well as elegance. Notes of cassis, blueberries, blackberries, espresso, smoke, earth, and vanilla are offered in a full-bodied, profoundly concentrated and layered style. For whatever reason, the 1999 Maya revealed more forwardness than the Cabernet Sauvignon cuvee. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2024. (Release date 10/02) Tel. (707) 944-2676; Fax (707) 944-8411