2002 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.

There will be no 2003 Maya, as the winemaking team here did not like the tannic structure of the wine, or the consistency of ripeness (even in 2002, Naoko Dalla Valle sold off a lot of cabernet franc because it was not supple enough).Dalla Valle has steadily been replanting its vines due to phylloxera but has had to speed up the replanting program owing to leaf roll virus and oak root fungus.After the 2005 vintage, the oldest cabernet franc vines on the property, dating back to 1984, will be replanted.Michel Rolland has been consulting here since the 2004 harvest.

Winemaker Mia Klein described the 2002 harvest here as an easy one, with the vines handling the heat well. The vines on this hillside get full sun exposure all year round and have little problem with heat," she explained. And there are always cooling afternoon breezes coming in off the San Pablo Bay."There are only 15 barrels or so of the estate's elite Maya bottling these days, as half of the cabernet sauvignon vines that go into this blend, whose production was already declining due to oak root virus, were pulled out in 2001 and replanted last year.