DALLE VALLE "Maya" 2011

(Napa Valley, California) $327

You can sense the blood in this wine before you taste it. I know; it sounds bad. But there’s an iron-rich minerality in Maya that makes this cabernet sauvignon/cabernet franc blend wonderfully enticing–as if the vineyard’s crushed red volcanic rocks themselves had picked up a microphone and decided to speak. Dalle Valle’s Maya is always a beautiful wine, but in this 2011 vintage, it is especially exquisite and ballet-like.

97 points