Wine Advocate
byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe10/31/2019
The 2017 Maya is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc and was bottled one week before I tasted it. Very deep purple-black in color, it opens with profound earthy notions of truffles, damp soil, crushed rocks and tar over a core of Black Forest cake, black raspberries, blueberry compote and aged meat plus touches of wilted roses and unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is solidly structured with firm, fine-grained tannins and wonderful freshness lifting the multilayered blue and black fruits with a long, perfumed finish. Stunning. 97+
This is truly one of the most magical vineyards to visit in Napa Valley—poised on a ledge in the Vaca Mountains foothills, just below Ovid on Pritchard Hill and just above the valley floor overlooking Screaming Eagle. Out of the 26 acres in total at Dalla Valle, 20 acres are committed to vines. Andy Erickson has been winemaker at this estate since 2007 and Michel Rolland is the consultant enologist. Founder/Proprietor Naoko Dalla Valle’s daughter, Maya, has been working closely with Andy Erickson while slowly taking over the reins over the last few years.
“In 2017, after the Labor Day heatwave, the vines did shut down for a brief period but managed to complete ripening by early October,” Andy Erickson said. “We experimented with shade cloth for the Cabernet Franc, and it worked well. We also opened up the canopy for filtered light. We have misting in the vineyards to help too.” Everything was in before the fires and the winery had generators to perform pump-overs.
As for the 2018s, Erickson said, “We are really excited about the 2018s—dark, aromatic, rich, lots of components.” The 2018 blends have not been finalized, but I did taste a number of the component parts during my visit and they are looking very promising indeed!