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Dalla Valle Vineyards is an outstanding winery owned by good friend Nakao Dalla Valle. The winery and vineyards are located on a plateau 400 feet above the valley floor, in the eastern hills of Oakville, Napa Valley. The combination of perfect sun exposure and the cooling marine influence from the Pacific Ocean make this an ideal site for world-class winegrowing. In recent years, the wine has had very limited availability due to replanting in the vineyards, but it is coming back on-line with the 2005 vintage. Wines made from Dalla Valle Vineyards are pure unbridled expressions of fruit at its most powerful and concentrated. These wines are of immense stature and richness with well-integrated tannin and acidity.

The red, rocky soils at Dalla Valle Vineyards are comprised of 70% to 90% fractured rock of volcanic origin with clay loam and clay soil providing excellent drainage. Rootstocks have been carefully matched to the soils and site. Yields here are quite low, averaging one to one-and-a-half tons per acre. Typically, the vineyard is exposed to at least an additional full hour of sunlight more than the valley floor due to the situation of Dalla Valle's western-facing slopes that receive the last rays of the setting sun. All of these factors contribute to the production of low-yielding, ultra-premium grapes with complex flavors, focused tannins and superb color that are characteristics from this terroir.

Special note: Starting with the 2005 vintage, master wine consultant Michel Rolland joined the Dalla Valle winemaking team and works on all of the final blends of both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Maya. Dalla Valle is one of the original "cult wines" and has the reputation of always being among Napa Valley's finest.

Dalla Valle 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is a very limited-production wine of extraordinary quality. A mathematician might say the quality is inversely proportional to availability. We would just say that it is down-right great wine. Robert Parker apparently agrees, as he tasted it and noted: "The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon offers a sumptuous bouquet of creme de cassis, earth, spice box, and hints of licorice as well as oak. Medium-bodied, moderately tannic, and pure with a European structural profile, it is accessible, but should age nicely for 15 years."

The Duke has this rare Napa Valley gem available for $199.99 per bottle. Buy a 6-pack (or more) and save 10% (final price $179.99 each).

P. S. A member of the Duke's staff recently had a bottle of the 1990 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon. Simply put, "WOW!! He opined that even though it was spectacular now, it probably had another decade left in it.

Dalla Valle 2005 Maya is a proprietary wine that is usually about two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Cabernet Franc. It is a graceful wine of refinement, rich elegance and outstanding aging potential. No Maya was made in either the 2003 or the 2004 vintages because of the replanting, but the 2005 is here and better than ever! Parker awarded 2005 Maya 94+ points and wrote: "The gorgeous 2005 Maya, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (35%) and Cabernet Franc (65%), [sic] displays an inky/ruby/purple color in addition to sweet aromas of camphor, incense, blue and blackberries, cedar, and assorted spices. This full-bodied, extraordinarily elegant, pure, rich wine needs another 2-3 years of cellaring, and should keep for two decades or more."

The Duke has 2005 Maya available for $299.99 per bottle. Three-bottle purchases can be delivered in attractive, custom, wooden boxes.

Even more rare than the Cabernet Sauvignon, only about 400 cases of Maya are available worldwide.

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Note: Prices are good while our supplies last and we reserve the right to change them at any time without notice.