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Tasting Notes

Tasting notes
Score 98/100 · Antonio Galloni, Vinous, Jan 2021

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.

Critic Scores

Critic scores
98
98/100

Average Score

98
98/100

Antonio Galloni, Vinous

97
97/100

James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

More reviews and scores

100 points
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
Score 100/100 · Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, Jan 2021

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.

98 points
James Suckling
Score 98/100 · James Suckling, Jan 2021

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.

97 points
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
Score 97/100 · James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, Jan 2020

This puts it all together, with an initial torrent of cassis, plum and blackberry fruit that is slowly harnessed as it moves through, thanks to guardrails of graphite, cast iron and smoldering tobacco. Seriously long and remarkably refined, despite its obvious muscle, with the iron note reverberating through the fruit at the end. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2040. 900 cases made

About the producer

Dalla Valle 1:1
Dalla Valle

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.

Product details