Maya, 2023
Maya, 2023
- 75cl
- 15%
- Red Still
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
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Optimal drinking window: 2028 - 2050
Est. delivery in 2027
Maya is one of Napa's true cult wines — a roughly equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grown on the rocky, steep slopes of Oakville at Dalla Valle Vineyards. Named after Gustav Dalla Valle's daughter, it has, since its first vintage in 1992, consistently ranked among California's most sought-after reds.
The 2023 comes from a warm but carefully managed vintage, and it shows: concentrated dark fruit, iron-edged structure, and the kind of precision that separates Dalla Valle from the broader Napa pack.
What the critics say:
"Peony, violets, cassis flowers, chalky tannins, opens up at a steady pace and is just a fabulous wine, love the curve of slate textured tannins that head upwards through the palate, taking you with them as they go. Extremely sleek, this is the best I have tasted from this superbly located estate. Maya Dalla Valle and Andy Erickson winemakers. 8.5ha estate. François Vignaud director."
"The 2023 Maya brings the same intensity as the Cabernet Sauvignon, yet with another sense of elegance, offering notes of cassis, black cherries, graphite, crushed stone, and chalky minerality. Based on 67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc and aging 23 months in 80% new French oak, it's full-bodied and beautifully balanced with no hard edges and ultra-fine tannins. This is a heavenly, layered, gorgeous wine that has perfection written all over it."
The vineyard sits on steep, volcanic, and rocky soils on the eastern hillsides of Oakville, at elevations that give cooler nights than the valley floor and naturally restrict yields. The soils are thin, well-drained, and force the vines to work hard — which is precisely why the wines carry such concentration without feeling heavy. The combination of warm days, cold nights, and poor soils drives both ripeness and freshness.
Napa Valley is California's most prestigious wine appellation, covering around 16,500 acres of vineyards across a long, north-south valley with dramatically varied soils and microclimates. Oakville, where Dalla Valle sits, is considered one of Napa's finest sub-appellations, home to some of the valley's most celebrated Cabernet Sauvignon estates. The AVA rules are relatively permissive compared to European appellations, requiring only that 85% of fruit comes from within the named area, which puts the emphasis squarely on individual producers to define their own quality benchmarks.
After the drought years that dominated much of the early 2020s, 2023 brought Napa something it had almost forgotten: a genuinely wet winter. Atmospheric rivers dumped substantial rainfall across California through the early months, replenishing reservoirs and pushing water tables up in ways the valley hadn't seen for years. The growing season that followed was cooler and more drawn out than recent vintages, with harvest arriving later than many growers had become accustomed to. That extra hang time matters — it tends to produce phenolic ripeness without the sugar accumulation that forces winemakers into picking decisions they'd rather not make.
The result across Napa is a vintage that feels more detailed and less obviously plush than the blockbuster heat years. Cabernet Sauvignon shows real structure — tannins that have something to say — alongside fruit that doesn't overwhelm the conversation. These are wines built for the medium to long term. The best examples from Oakville, Rutherford, and Stags Leap will reward patience; give the serious reds until at least 2028, and the top names considerably longer. If you're reaching for bottles now, give them air and time in the glass.
OUR GROWERS
Dalla Valle Vineyards
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