2013 Dalla Valle Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California,USA

2013 Dalla Valle Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California,USA

Product: 20138115173
 
2013 Dalla Valle Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California,USA

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Description

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon has really closed down since I last tasted it. Beams of tannin give the 2013 its shape and overall energy. Precise and yet also quite explosive, the 2013 will be a magnificent wine once it emerges from its present slumber. Quite simply, this is a captivating wine from Naoko Dalla Valle. Time in the glass provides glimpse of what is in store for readers who wait. However, I imagine opening a bottle before age ten will be largely an academic exercise.

Drink 2023 - 2038

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (Dec 2016)

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Critics reviews

Antonio Galloni, Vinous97/100

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon has really closed down since I last tasted it. Beams of tannin give the 2013 its shape and overall energy. Precise and yet also quite explosive, the 2013 will be a magnificent wine once it emerges from its present slumber. Quite simply, this is a captivating wine from Naoko Dalla Valle. Time in the glass provides glimpse of what is in store for readers who wait. However, I imagine opening a bottle before age ten will be largely an academic exercise.

Drink 2023 - 2038

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (Dec 2016) Read more

Wine Advocate94/100

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate displays loads of black fruit, cedar and wet stones along with some burning embers and charcoal, followed by wonderful ripeness and sweetness in a classic, full-bodied style. Theres a certain minerality, the tannins are prominent but velvety, and the wine multi-dimensional and layered. This wine will benefit from 5-7 years and last for at least 30+ years, based on how older vintages have evolved. This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Drink 2020 - 2050

Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (Oct 2015)

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Decanter94/100

The team at Dalla Valle builds wines for the long haul, as is clearly shown here. Poised, composed aromas of raspberry, red liquorice, cement and dried tobacco. The palate is silky, rigid and refined, maintaining the spry energy of the nose. Expansive but currently austere on the finish. Needs at least five years to to come together, but should age a further three decades without worry.

Drink 2026 - 2051

Matthew Luczy, Decanter.com (Mar 2021) Read more

About this WINE

Dalla Valle Vineyards

Dalla Valle Vineyards

Dalla Valle Vineyards overlooks the Napa Valley floor from a hillside terrace 400 feet above the Silverado Trail in Oakville. Since Gustav and Naoko Dalla Valle purchased the property in 1982 and began planting vines, this exceptional acreage has continually distinguished itself as the ideal site for producing some of the world’s finest wines, thanks to the perfect convergence of lingering sunlight, cooling marine influence and red volcanic soil.

This jewel in the crown originates in the remarkable vineyard that shares its name. A proprietary blend aged in primarily new French oak, Maya showcases the site’s exceptional Cabernet Franc; it is graceful and alluring with an unmistakable pedigree. Fewer than 500 cases are produced each year.

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Napa Valley

Napa Valley

North Coast's Napa Valley is California's most famous viticultural area (AVA), claiming some of the most expensive agricultural land in the world and producing wines of ‘cult’ status.

Its 16,000 ha of vines lie over a strip (40 miles long-5 miles wide) of diverse soils (clay, gravely, volcanic), with its northernmost end on the side of Mountain Helena and its foot in San Francisco Bay. The valley is framed by two mountains ranges Vaca (to the north) and Mayacamas (to the south), yet the main climatic influence is the cool wind and fog that is sucked in from San Pablo Bay during the afternoon, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and evenly. 

The area enjoys a variety of unique microclimates, as temperatures can vary dramatically as much as 15 degrees, from the north to the south end of the valley. These differences have led to the creation of several sub-AVAs (14 in total) including:

Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley District, Diamond Mountain District, Howell Mountain, Los Carneros, Mt. Veeder, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Spring Mountain District, Stags Leap District, Yountville, Wild Horse Valley and Oak Knoll District. The Calistoga AVA is still pending approval.

Both the “Napa Valley” designation and the sub-AVA name must appear on the wine label simultaneously, with the exception of wines from the Carneros AVA, which is shared between the Napa Valley and the Sonoma County.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the undisputed king of Napa grapes, occupying over 45% of the vineyard acreage, followed by (predominantly) Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cab. Franc and to a lesser extent Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto.

Recommended Producers
Frog's Leap, Dominus, David Ramey, Viader, Stag's Leap Cellars, Paras Vineyards, Heitz.

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.

In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and  Australia.

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