-
100
/ 100
The Wine Advocate -
99
/ 100
Decanter -
99
/ 100
The Wine Independent -
98
/ 100
The Drinks Business -
98
/ 100
Vinous
Red
Classification
Malbec
Variety
2020
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
USA
Country
California, Napa County
Region
12.0%
Alcohol %
10-15 Years
Cellaring
Scores
100 / 100"Simply a wonderful wine, the 2021 Maya oozes class, with deep, complex aromas of violets and cassis, earthy loam and hints of tobacco and mint. It's just medium to full-bodied, cool, silky and finessed. Supremely elegant but concentrated, just reined in, restrained. She's the "perfect" girl, the one so special a younger me would be afraid to ask out. The current me is married, so... I'll just sit here and drink it in. Readers should drink it in too. All of it, from the upfront fruit to the lingering, savory finish. While approachable now, this wine should continue to drink well for two decades or more. - Joe Czerwinski"
- The Wine Advocate
99 / 100
"It comes from the Maya blocks on the house's southern side combined with Cabernet Franc that abuts the Peter Michael Au Paradis vineyard. A wonderfully dark, opaque ruby colour in the glass leads to fragrant boysenberry and kirsch notes, cedarwood, and rose petals. Full-bodied with super firm and structured tannins that have a pixelated density that would make the latest iPhone jealous. The finish is very long, and even for all the wine's compactness and weight on the palate, there is a lightness to this wine that is striking. Maya Dalla Valle, the daughter of founder Naoko Dalla Valle, is the winemaker with Andy Erickson and Michel Rolland consulting, while Edgar Alfaro manages the vineyards. - Jonathan Cristaldi"
- Decanter
99 / 100
"The 2021 Maya, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. It sails out with graceful notes of violets, fresh blackberries, and blackcurrant pastilles giving way to wafts of pencil shavings and underbrush. The full-bodied palate is an exercise in elegance, with fine-grained tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and fragrant. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown"
- The Wine Independent
98 / 100
"(Napa Valley; 60% Cabernet Sauvignon; 40% Cabernet Franc; 15% alcohol). Lovely. Open and expressive, dynamic, lithe and vertical aromatically, with the leafy Cabernet Franc notes rising through the Cabernet Sauvignon frame. Stamens and saffron. Pollen. Lilac. Rose. A bulbier note too. Freshly grated beetroot! Chocolate ganache. Dark berry and stone fruit. Chewy tannins. The alcohol I feel a little on the finish. And the tannins are a tad dry. But this is unmistakably impressive, balanced, layered and harmonious. It will make a great bottle in a decade or two. Quite ferrous in its minerality. Cassis with aeration. - Colin Hay"
- The Drinks Business
98 / 100
"The 2021 Maya is young, but so promising. A wine of density and stature, the 2021 offers striking vertical depth, with bright acids and plenty of tannin. All the elements are so well balanced. Intense red fruit, blood orange, cinnamon, new leather and cedar all meld together, but it is the whole rather than the sum of parts that is most impressive here. A blast of vibrant fruit explodes through to the finish. Unforgettable. 98+ - Antonio Galloni"
- Vinous
Tasting Notes
Dalla Valle Vineyards is clearly one of the most significant family-owned estates in Napa Valley and is among the historic "4 Cult Wines," alongside Harlan Estate, Colgin, and Screaming Eagle. Founded in 1986 by Naoko and her late husband Gustav Dalla Valle, on the famed eastern hillsides of Oakville, Dalla Valle Vineyards has established itself as one of the world's most renowned wineries, consistently producing wines of remarkable character and extraordinary complexity, vintage after vintage. Today, Dalla Valle is led by the mother-daughter team of Naoko and Maya Dalla Valle, who work alongside a prestigious team that includes consulting winemaker Andy Erickson, vineyard manager Edgar Alfaro, and consulting oenologist Michel Rolland.
The 2021 Maya demonstrates the elegant power of the Maya's Cabernet coupled with the delicate aromatics of Cabernet Franc. Hints of freshly foraged black truffle, blackberries and cacaonibs on the nose, leading into a mineral, iron and resinous entry on the palate. This deeply complew wine then carries forward with a beautiful tension and brightness with notes of violet and dried provencal herbs. Firm yet seamsless tannins are left throughout the incredibly long finish, a characteristic of the drought vintage. It is a wine that will captivate you for now and for many years of aging to come.