The 1990 Maya (almost equal proportions of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) is a monster in the making. Its super-saturated, opaque black/ruby color is followed by a tight but promising nose of earth, cassis, smoke, and... Read More
The Maya Proprietary red wine is usually a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc and 55% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 1993 Maya is awesome. The opaque purple color accompanies a bouquet of stony, jammy cassis, roasted herbs, and smoky, meaty... Read More
The terrific 1995 Maya is cut from the same mold as all the great Mayas of this decade. Its tannin may be even riper than in the 1994, but the wine is still an unevolved, massive, and unformed giant, although it is obvious that... Read More
The 1996 Maya is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Vivid, intense aromas of new saddle leather, plums, black currants, underbrush, and licorice are followed by a full-bodied, sensationally concentrated wine with... Read More
The virtually perfect 1999 Maya is a wine of stupendous unctuosity, richness, fruit, and elegance. It is remarkable that the Cabernet Franc grown in these red volcanic soils can produce wines of such intensity as well as elegance.... Read More
The 2000 Maya (a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Cabernet Franc) is a medium-weight, elegant effort displaying spice box, incense, loamy soil, dried herb, creme de cassis, and smoky oak characteristics. Medium-bodied,... Read More
Even more prodigious is the 2001 Maya, a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Cabernet Franc. A modern day legend, it boasts complex notes of cedarwood, sauteed porcini mushrooms, camphor, graphite, creme de cassis, kirsch... Read More
The 2007 Maya borders on perfection. Its dense plum/ruby/purple color is followed by abundant aromas of graphite, blueberry liqueur, hoisin sauce, smoked meats and red and black fruits. The extraordinary aromatics give way to... Read More
The 2008 Maya boasts an inky/blue/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of blue, black and red fruits, crushed rock, spice box, licorice and subtle wood. Full-bodied, multilayered, pure and deep, this is a striking, seamless... Read More
The 2009 Maya (67% Cabernet Sauvignon and 33% Cabernet Franc) has opened-up considerably and is much more showy than I would have expected. It exhibits notes of sweet creme de cassis, camphor, bouquet garni, spice box and a hint... Read More
The 2010 Maya is a less evolved, more backward, brooding wine with a dense opaque blue/purple color, explosive richness, and abundant notes of incense, camphor, charcoal, blackberries, blueberries and hints of violets and forest... Read More
The 2011 Maya is charming, open-knit and fruity with hints of black raspberries, black currants, licorice and a touch of leaf tobacco. Although much lighter than the 2009 and 2010, it is medium-bodied, richly fruity and attractive.... Read More
Dalla Valle was the first winery to demonstrate what heights Cabernet Franc could reach in the valley with their Maya proprietary blend, which averages 50-55% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2012 Maya is a... Read More
It is excellent, but not one of the great efforts from this iconic winery situated on the eastern Vaca hillsides above the Oakville corridor. That said, the 2014 Maya Proprietary Red may not be as perfect as the 2013 was, but... Read More
Composed of 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot, the 2015 Seventeen Forty Reserve has a very expressive dark berries, blueberries, mocha and cedar-laced nose with a touch of underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers... Read More
The 2019 Soul Of A Lion is a blend of free-run Cabernet Sauvignon (77%), Cabernet Franc (14%), and Petit Verdot (9%), aged 22 months in 100% new French oak. Opaque ruby in color, it offers aromatic contrast between dark, savory... Read More
I did not pick this out as Dominus in the blind tasting, largely because it came across as such a young, rich, blockbuster wine. One of the richest, densest, most concentrated offerings in the entire tasting, it also proved to... Read More
There were 6,500 cases produced of the 1987 Dominus. It is one of the great wines of the vintage in a year when a handful of California producers made profound Cabernets (i.e., Robert Mondavi Reserve, Dunn Howell Mountain, and... Read More
Production from the 124-acre Napanook Vineyard reached 6,500 cases in 1992 and 10,000 cases in 1994, a figure this winery has been building toward since the debut releases of 1983 and 1984. The 1992 Dominus is similar in style... Read More
Christian Moueix and his talented winemaking team continue to rewrite the definition of a Napa Valley reference point wine. The 1995 Dominus (6,000 cases produced from a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6%... Read More
The 1996 Dominus, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, tips the scales at 14.2% alcohol. Although this offering lacks the power, intensity, and compelling characteristics of the... Read More