Maya's Clone

[dstgolf]

Had the pleasure (maybe) of having the 2000 Dalla Valle Maya at a friends. Now this to me is California on steroids. Everything up front on overdrive. Aromatics wafting out of the glass,silky smooth with no harsh edges. Blueberry pie blowing out of the glass and perfectly balnced with soft imperceptable tannins. Sounds great,but not my style of wine. Over extracted,hot with alcohol and unidimensional. Not offensive in any way and very pleasnt. Last time I had this was in Paris at BWE 2005 lined up against a flight of Haut Brion! hands down I thought this wine was from Mars. I think Harry C brought this and I know individual passions but I don't get it. At $30-50 maybe. But at $350-500 I don't think so. The one thing this did do was strike a memory of a wine that sales reps seem to like when we have got together during equipment junkets. They all seem to gravitate to Darioush. Don't know why but it is a cheaper clone of the Maya. After drinking the Maya we headed over to a new wine emporium in Bradenton and picked up a bottle of the 2005 Darioush Cab. We couldn't believe how similar these wines were in all respects(nose,mouthfeel,and taste) for a fifth of the price. I know there are probably some Maya supporters but I just don't see any value or charm here to warrant the price.
Danny

[JimHow]

Not exactly Bordeaux-like, eh?
I'm guessing Robert Parker scored this 95+?

[stefan]

We drank the 1992 regular Dalla Valle a short time back. I was quite good and interesting with Eucalyptus and mint that was nicely balanced with cassis and dark berries. I had the impression that I would not have liked the wine if I had drunk it 8 or 10 years ago.

stefan

[JimHow]

We actually drank it about six years ago, stefan, at a Saturday afternoon dinner at Gio's restaurant in Bronxville. Paul North brought it and it was my wine of the night. I'm pretty sure it was the '92. KevinO's mother was there and she liked it too.

[dstgolf]

Maybe with time and I mean a lot of time this may turn into something beautiful. Right now this Maya 2000 is showing nothing but Californian hormones!

Danny

[PappaDoc]

I think Paul brought the Maya. I haven't seen him in years. I heard he became a top notch Professional Poker player. Anyone know is current whereabouts?

[JimHow]

Good grief, I scare myself sometimes how I remember some of these wines years later.

It was indeed the 1992 Dalle Valla. It was indeed brought by Paul North, to Gio's restaurant, and I was indeed sitting next to Kevin O's mother. Here are a few of the posts from that thread, courtesy of the search function on the old BWE:

From: PappaDoc (Original Message) Sent: 4/6/2002 10:56 PM
A resounding success as will be validated be AKR notes. I, as others were too engrossed with the company, wine, and food to take extensive notes. I rely on Arvind (AKR) "The Historian" of BWE for copious notes . My excuse is "I was too busy pouring."
The Wines:
1995 Ayala Champagne- A wine to clear the pallet of dust, and detritus from the long ride to the Westchester hinterland of New Rochelle. A fitting venue for a comparison tasting of Bordeaux and California Cabernet.
!973 BV. Reserve -Fully evolved, My thoughts were, Francois would appreciate
this wine for its restrained yet persistant presence. This wine was not served blind as I was not certain of its condition, a successfull experiment as it spoke to you in low tones where volume was not necessary. A wine that whispers to your heart.
1. 1990 Leoville Poyferre-I guessed a 1989 Cordier St. Julian, old leather, funky
style, smokey(Paul Norths notes a "Smokey element") I concur.
2. 1983 La Fleur Petrus- Seemed youthfull, strong oak presence, plums, I guess Cali.
3. 1982 Haut Bages Averous- Bordeaux, all the telltail indicators, Cassis , cedar,
lead pencil, earthy elements. Superb! Had to go back for more.
4. 1990 Pichon-Longueville-Baron- Ripe "Over the top fruit" led me to think Cali.
This was my delight in this tasting, a joy to be wrong at no expense. A magic show, we were titilated by the unexpected.
5. 1985 Joseph Phelps "Baccus"- Mint chocolate,(Vino Rosso' note), I read it as chocolate and eucalyptus, on the nose. Sweet fruit not over done, balanced by smooth tannins. Seemed much younger.
6. 1994 L'Evangile- I flip-flopped on this wine, the pedigree/breed was upfront, but the rush of ripe fruit without a pronounced tannic presence had me change my guess to Cali. The wine is lithe and supports Arvinds declaration that 1994 is a complete success in Pomerol. There were concentric echos at our end of the table.
7. 1989 Lynch Bages- Bet you can't guess who brought this wine. I swear, a tiny French flag surfaced from each glass as I poured this wine. Then the Napoleonic
visage of our Beloved Benevolent Dictator Jim, arose from the limpid depths, with a fearsome glare daring any foot soldier in his army to deny unswerving Loyality to this, his herald. I, for one of three did not waver, as the Bing Cherry Liqueur element held me to the forefront of his defensive line.
8. 1992 Dalla Valle- No stopping this wine as it flows like "Quick Silver" across the pallet delivering its message to Zeus and company that Heaven does indeed abide on earth. A wine of two worlds, a second "Lady Liberty" courtesy of France.
A beacon for the West Coast.
9.1995 Girard-Guessed the wine to be an 1985 Cali, resinous nose blew off to reveal a Cassis element.
10. 1990 Dunn Vineyards "Howell Mountain" Serendipity afoot here, Adele O.
called me thurs. to tell me there was "Great difficulty Getting the wax cap, and cork out of the bottle." She summoned Nick Malone "Cork extractor Non-Pareil"
whom Pappa intrusts with this task on a near weekly basis with unblemished results.
Alas even a 300.00 cork lever was no match. Nick with the assistance
of a few incantations familar to all whom have struck thier finger with a hammer, submerged it's Wisdom tooth into the btl. The wine was then double decanted through cheese cloth. "Oh The Humanity!" Pappa decried on hearing of this assault. "The wine will be dead in 48 hours!" Adele suggests over Pappas''wails
"I'll bring a Plump Jack Cab, O.K?" Yeah, o.k.". Two days later Adele arrives with the wine, I sniff the btl and smile, "That Kevin O. has a long reach." Results Unanimous favorite in its flight, the only wine to achieve this today!
11. 1987 Ch. Montelena- Dense color, most concentrated wine for me so far.
Cassis and cedar bouquet, flavors meld with the nose. Easy guess for Cali.
Brings Brother Dennis to mind.
12. 1994 Chalk Hill- Eucalyptus nose, rich briary fruit, lip smacking acidity.
O.K. time for Arvind to take over as he seems to be immune to the effects of alcohol. I'll list the wines.
13. 1985 Leoville Barton-Not as emphatic as it should be, but true to its genes.
14. 1985 Beringer Res.- well received by all.
15. 1995 Togni- Voluptuous, highly extracted fruit, big ripe tannins hold everything together. A wine with a great future, time will be the emollient to polish this gem.
16. 1977 Smith Wood House Oporto- Prunes and cherries on the nose, chocolate and coffee in the mouth, the perfect wine to follow the Togni. Long finish.
17. 1998 Wairau River Riesling(Year and spelling may be incorrect)-No mistaking the burst of botrytis that grabs the nose and pallet. High acidity holds all elements of apricots, peaches, and stones together.
18. 1988 Romer Du Hayot- Creme Brulee, pineapples on the nose and pallet, supple, restrained.

As always the company was the centerpiece, Masterfully accompanied by Giovannis' culinary skills assisted by Sal Jr. with excellent service-The usual here at Fratelli!
The food.
Three Cheeses, Parmesano Reggiano, Crotenese a sheep cheese from Giovannis' familys home town in Calabria, and a Provelone that I was fearfull would overpower the wines. I should know by now Gio is the food maven, it was wonderfull and most delicate.
Confit d' Canard, the best I've ever had served with carmelized onions on crostini.
Boneless Veal Osso Bucco with rigitoni, Italian Soul Food !
Pesto Crusted Rack of Lamb with assorted roasted veggies.
Assorted dessert platter and espresso. Fini.

We were safeguarded from terroist attack of Fruit Bomb Wine by Lena, Arvinds
trained Basset Hound. She stood watch under the wine table daring any Gallo product to come within reach of her long snout. We knew we were safe! Not since the likes of Mighty Manfred The Wonder Dog, has the world seen such a dedicated canine!
Bouna Notte!

***************************************

From: Paul North Sent: 4/7/2002 2:06 PM
Wow, what an event.Tthanks to Pappa for organizing, to Giovanni for the food and to everyone for great wine and company.

All these wines were really remarkable and each one would have been quite something individually.

My favorites were:
90 Leoville Poyferre - I've had this before but did not remotely recognize it. Getting better and has the stuffing to improve for several more years.
85 Phelps Backus - ripe and harmonius, showing very young.
94 L'Evangile - clearly a class wine, much improved from a couple of years ago when I found the oak too obtrusive.
89 LB - 'nuff said
92 Dalla Valle - I'm obviously biased as I brought this, but I thought it was extrodinary - intense, silky, complex, long finish, juicy but with great tannic structure.
90 Dunn HM - I'm a big fan of these wines, owning the 92 through 97 vintages and having drunk many of them. To those who say it needs more time I say drink it now and appreciate it for what it is.
85 Beringer PR - I think this and the 95 Togni were somewhat overshadowed at the end given the parade of great wines before. If this had come earlier I think I would have remembered what I liked about it
95 Togni - ditto.
77 Woodhouse - fantastic alone and with the warm flourless chocolate cake (and I don't normally mix any wine with desert).
No offense to all the other wines which were great as well and no corked or dead bottles. As far as I could tell everyone made it out the restaurant.

As to why it took Arv, Jim and I about 4 hours to get home, we'll save that tale for another time...

Paul

*************************************

From: Kevin O Sent: 4/7/2002 2:55 PM
I got the full report from mum it sounds like it was quite the event. Both Adele and her friend Joan attend many wine functions each year and are no strangers to good food and good wine, I know the difference was the good company and congeniality inherent in a BWE event. Thanks for letting mom know I've not been hanging out with the wrong crowd, of course she had the pleasure of being seated next to our fearless leader Jim.

DavidG, Mr. Vino and Peggy, Sandra (my wife), Kate (daughter) and I had a special evening ourselves in a mini BWE Mid-Atlantic dinner Friday at Les Halles. I leave the notes for David when he's got the time. It wasn't the five hour plus extravaganza you NY'ers had, but corkage on nine wines for five people is evidence of a strong effort.

Kevin

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From: AKR Sent: 4/7/2002 11:42 PM
My favorites were the Phelps "Backus", Dalle Valle, Dunn "Howell" and the Lynch. Overall, I felt the California wines were a much stronger group of performers despite my personal preferences in general for Bordeaux.

There is nothing really quite like blind tasting for sorting out the riff raff.

That ride home was heinous. Sorry Paul & Jim.

AKR

[JimHow]

You are correct, PappaDoc.
I'd be interested in knowing where Paul North is, he was a great guy.

[Claret]

I really enjoyed the 1992 Dalla Valle last summer, and the 1994 tasted last month was even better than the very good 1992, with an extra layer of everything, without being overdone in any way, and in an excellent style of California fruit, balance and structure. 1992 Cabernets are from a vintage that is showing more depth after 16 years of age. It is a vintage that I like and I will pop 1992 Dominus in a couple of weeks.

DV had to pull some vines that were dead from phylloxera in the mid 1990's, so newer releases will have a different character with the new grapes. The 1994 was still plenty structured and demands several hours of decanting.

Paul North is a class act.

[DavidG]

I actually prefer the Dalla Valle regular to the Maya. The Maya has failed to live up to the hype/price the few times I've had it, but the regulare cuvee is quite nice. Certainly not Bdx-like, but delicious in its own way.

[Claret]

Maya is higher in Cab Franc. I enjoyed the 1993 in 1998.

[dstgolf]

Thanks David. We have a case of the Cab Sauv in Florida as well but never tried it. We bought out a gourmet shops wine cellar that was going out of business last winter. Some great labels at well under cost. We thought we'd dive in to the heavy guns this time and save the lesser wines for my return next week when we'll have our wives down along with inlaws visiting. Not that we won't indulge but with eight people we can't start pulling the big stuff for the uninitiated.A few treats will nevertheless be on hand.

Danny

[Harry C.]

Danny, good memory. I brought the 1991 Maya and the 1994 Harlan. My reasoning was that these grapes used in Maya were similar in percentages to Cheval Blanc. I wanted to give some people a chance to taste something completely different. I thought it was great. The Harlan got more praise, but I couldn't help think that it was because it was better known. These wines were placed with Bordeaux that made them stand out like sore thumbs. To each his own. I personally think Maya needs many years to come around, much like Dunn Howell Mountain.

[alchemeus]

The thing I've noticed about really nice high end wines is the balance and feel and to a degree the complexity far more than anything else. And what you want to spend on a wine is what you want to spend on a wine. Shite, I've had $20 or $30 something Rhones that have pleased me as much as or more than $50 Bourdeaux or higher Napa or such.

I guess that's what finally drove me away from Points and such...my palate is MY palate. I like spinach (cooked and raw), dandelion in salads, blue cheese, Colby Cheese, chicken livers, etc. A Plethera of tastes. Mussels and Oysters and milk and crayfish and Brussels Sprouts.

But a GREAT wine is instantly observable. It's the balance. Lot's of different palates like it.

[JimHow]

....I'm allergic to dandelion.... And pistachio as well, big time....

[alchemeus]

....I'm allergic to dandelion.... And pistachio as well, big time....

Damn, that's a shame. A Bitter Green that grows wild in your yard...heck I pick them. Lot's of nutrition you miss also.

Sad.

[JimHow]

Hey Alch, you should join us in DC, the Saturday night dinner is shaping up nicely, rumors have it there are going to be some '95 d'Yquems in presence.

[alchemeus]

Hey Alch, you should join us in DC, the Saturday night dinner is shaping up nicely, rumors have it there are going to be some '95 d'Yquems in presence.

Heck a DC bash I would have thought was maxed out by now.

I'll ask Kathryn.

[JimHow]

Oh, we're gonna have about 30ish people there, about the same as last time. The room holds 40. We'd love to see you and Kathryn again, it'll be a great time. MichaelP is gonna be there!