1997 Maya

Dalla Valle's Maya is one of Napa Valley’s most iconic wines. This complete vertical back to the inaugural 1988 is a poignant reminder of just how trailblazing Maya was back in the 1980s and 1990s. At the same time, though, Maya is timeless and enduring in its beauty.

Naoko Dalla Valle and her husband Gustav purchased their estate in 1982. The sunny, well-exposed property reminded Gustav Dalla Valle of his native Italy. Dalle Valle is located about mid-slope on the eastern side of Oakville in what is now recognized as one of the pockets of true excellence within Napa Valley. Pedregal, Weitz, Backus, Peter Michael’s Au Paradis and Oakville Terrace are some of the sites that surround Dalla Valle. Sadly, Gustav Dalla Valle passed away in 1995, but he left behind a rich legacy that even he probably could not have envisaged. Today, the winery is run by Naoko Dalla Valle with the assistance of Winemaker Andy Erickson.

Under the influence of Tony Soter and, subsequently, Mia Klein, the Dalla Valle wines have gotten less and less acidification since the early '90s. "The huge phenolic material provided by the fruit here does not really require the pHs to be low," explains Klein. "The tannins are anti-oxidative, and there are plenty of tannins. The addition of acidity tends to make the tannins come across as meaner, more rustic." The last two harvests have been extremely late by the standards of this warm hillside site: following a September 2 start in '97, the harvests began on September 26 and October 7, respectively, in '98 and '99. "We can't be forced into picking with green seeds because we don't want to cheat on the length of maceration," noted Klein.

The red soils of this hillside vineyard on the east side of the valley above Oakville yield some of the finest cabernet franc of California, as well as the only established California collectible based on a majority of franc. The Maya bottling gets a bit more maceration and a slightly higher percentage of new oak than the Napa Valley release. One to three weeks of further maceration follows the fermentation-for flavor and texture, according to owner Naoko Dalla Valle. Tony Soter and Mia Klein vinified the '96 and '97 (Klein will continue here as consulting winemaker following Soter retirement from his various consultancies); one of the key objectives in vinification in recent years, in the words of owner Naoko Dalla Valle, has been "to get the tannins to move further back in the mouth." I will publish the results of a Maya vertical tasting in an upcoming issue.