Stop! This wine needs air! Do not drink it straight out of the bottle; after two hours in a decanter this wine is a rockstar! Allow the fruit to wake up if you were trapped in the bottle for 20 years you would want to little stretch too!! and this wine did exactly that... closed on opening - two hours later a beautifulbeautiful Napa Dusty cherry fruit nose with structured hillside chewy tannins and surprisingly length and Richness emerged - opened on 2.8.17 at the best bottle dinner at Gwen - hosted by wineLA - we give wine the proper treatment & service; paired with amazing food. 95 points in a very competitive blind wine flight with screaming eagle 96 and Aubreu Madrona ranch 2007 this one came in second.
Stop! This wine needs air! Do not drink it straight out of the bottle; after two hours in a decanter this wine is a rockstar! Allow the fruit to wake up if you were trapped in the bottle for 20 years you would want to little stretch too!! and this wine did exactly that... closed on opening - two hours later a beautifulbeautiful Napa Dusty cherry fruit nose with structured hillside chewy tannins and surprisingly length and Richness emerged - opened on 2.8.17 at the best bottle dinner at Gwen - hosted by wineLA - we give wine the proper treatment & service; paired with amazing food. 95 points in a very competitive blind wine flight with screaming eagle 96 and Aubreu Madrona ranch 2007 this one came in second.
1 person found it helpfulFeb 9th, 2017I was excited to uncork the '97 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc Blend 'Maya' to report on the progress of this Wine Advocate 99-point blockbuster. Sadly this bottle was totally undrinkable. It was not cork tainted, but was probably poorly stored at some point of its life. I received it as a generous gift and therefore unsure of the bottle provenance. I think I may have shed a tear.
I was excited to uncork the '97 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc Blend 'Maya' to report on the progress of this Wine Advocate 99-point blockbuster. Sadly this bottle was totally undrinkable. It was not cork tainted, but was probably poorly stored at some point of its life. I received it as a generous gift and therefore unsure of the bottle provenance. I think I may have shed a tear.
Sep 9th, 2014