Dalla Valle Maya Proprietary Red Blend 2018

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.

100 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate     The very deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Maya is shy and restrained to begin. With swirling, it begins to reveal beguiling notes of fragrant earth, lavender, garrigue and Sichuan pepper, giving way to a core of wild blueberries, boysenberries, black raspberries and black currants plus a hint of iron ore. The palate is full-bodied, revealing itself in slow-releasing layers of black and blue fruits with exhilarating earth and mineral sparks, framed by firm, beautifully ripe tannins and bold freshness, finishing on a persistent ferrous note. As cerebral as it is downright hedonic, this Maya is simply jaw-dropping.

100 Points - Jeb Dunnuck     A smaller production cuvée from a single parcel of the estate vineyard, the 2018 Maya Proprietary Red Wine is the normal 60/40 split of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Incredibly perfumed with complex notes of blue fruits, flowers, loamy earth, graphite, and tobacco, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, polished, silky tannins, no hard edges, and a finish that won’t quit. While this is a rich, concentrated wine, it’s the complexity, elegance, and finesse that define this cuvée, which is going to benefit from just short-term cellaring and cruise for 2-3 decades.

98 Points - James Suckling     A polished, full-bodied red with aromas and flavors of blueberry, black cherry, sandalwood and crushed praline. Superb flavor intensity and a creamy texture, supported by firm, velvety tannins. Lingering vanilla notes. Delicious already, but better from 2022.

98 Points - Vinous     The 2018 Maya is stratospheric. Inky, deep and wonderfully layered, Maya is off the charts. Inky red/purplish fruit, cedar, licorice, spice, tobacco and mocha are some of the many notes that grace the 2018. The wine is young, but exceptional and vivid. Maya is usually much more forbidding at this stage, this is an incredibly refined vintage. The purity and delineation of the flavors is unreal. Moreover, the 2018 is a wine of extreme pleasure.

94 Points - Decanter     A wonderfully fragranced and well-structured wine. Perfumed florality comes through from the 40% Cabernet Franc in the blend (with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon) alongside ripe red and black fruits and a kick of liquorice spice. Instantly captivating on the palate with a good balance of opulent fruit, herbal savouriness, refreshing acidity and grippy tannins. An excellent food wine but this a little more time before opening. Drinking Window 2024 - 2037.