DVO Dalla Valle & Ornellaia
DVO 2018

Robert Parker Wine Advocate:

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (containing a splash of Cabernet Franc) is a brand-new wine, representing a collaboration between Dalla Valle in Napa Valley and Ornellaia Estate in Tuscany (hence DVO). Deep garnet-purple colored, it is intensely scented of baked plums, boysenberries and Black Forest cake with an emerging perfume of potpourri, Indian spices and forest floor. The full-bodied palate is opulently fruited and plushly textured, delivering bags of floral and spicy nuances with a long, mineral and earth-tinged finish. Draped in flamboyant drama, this is a very different, very exciting new face of Napa Valley! 400 cases were made. Drink Date 2023-2050. Rating 98+/100. – Lisa Perrotti-Brown–

 DVO is a new joint venture between Dalla Valle and Ornellaia. The fruit for this new wine comes from various sources around Napa Valley, including cooler areas such as Coombsville and Mt. Veeder as well as Oakville. “It is about finding a more restrained take on Napa without being too simplistic about 'Old World finesse with New World personality,'” Ornellaia’s winemaker Axel Heitz told me over a Zoom call. There is a sense of friendship inherent in the wine. Maya Dalla Valle worked at Ornellaia in 2013. When she did her master’s degree in Bordeaux, Axel was the advisor for her thesis. “There is a common view between us about great wine,” Maya said. “We look out for less obvious sites around Napa Valley. We didn’t want a predictable formula. We wanted to include the coolness of high elevation, while still making a wine that speaks of Napa Valley.” “There is a close link to Italy with Maya with her father,” said Axel, “but also what we share as an Italian producer is trying to reflect sunny, warm climate—to try and bring out complexity and finesse. To combine the ripeness and opulence of wines born of the sun. In the great vineyard sites, you can have richness, opulence AND finesse.” DVO is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with a little Cabernet Franc, “to add freshness to the wine,” according to Maya. Axel was able to visit Napa during the 2018 harvest. During the winemaking, they exchanged on a daily basis. “We sat together to do the blends and make aging decisions,” he commented. For this first vintage, there are 400 cases only. While a specific DVO mailing list will be created in the future, they are initially planning to send an offer out to the Dalla Valle mailing list clients in spring 2021. A small amount will be sold through wholesalers.

Vinous:

The 2018 DVO Proprietary Blend is the first release from a new joint venture that brings together the forces of Dalla Valle and Tuscany's Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. A beautiful, racy wine, the 2018 captures all the energy and brightness that are such signatures of the sites in Oakwille, Mt. Veeder and Coombsville that inform this blend. Bright acids and veins of tannin drive a core of red berry fruit, cedar, blood orange, cedar and cinnamon. A generous dollop of Cabernet Franc (15%) comes through beautifully in a brisk, vibrant wine that dazzles right out of the gate. The 2018 spent 22 months in barrel (70% new) and a month in tank prior to bottling. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2020. This is a fabulous debut. Drink Date 2024-2040. Rating 96/100. –Antonio Galloni–  

James Suckling:

An extremely balanced and polished red with blackberry, currant, a touch of fresh herbs, light walnut and cedar. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins and a tight, intense finish. Very precise for the vintage. This is the new collaboration wine between Napa’s Dalla Valle and Tuscany’s Ornellaia. Drink after 2025, but already a beauty. Rating 96/100. – JamesSuckling.com -   

Adrian van Velsen - vvWine.ch:

(86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc, 22 Monate Ausbau in zu 75% neuen Holzfässern, 15.4% Alkohol) Kräftiges Rubinrot, im Kern fast Schwarz. Anfangs verhalten, öffnet sich mit der Zeit, zeigte viel dunkle Frucht, schwarze Johannisbeere, Kirschen, auch Blutorange, darüber Kräuter, Eukalyptus, Rauch, Teer. Im Gaumen dicht, ein Mund voll Wein, sensationelle Gerbstoffqualität, grosse Harmonie, die Säure wirkt wohl dosiert, trotz hoher Alkoholgradation zeigt der Wein Frische und Eleganz. Im Abgang von ausgezeichneter Länge. Grosses Cabernet-Kino! Ab jetzt bis 2045. Bewertung 98/100. -Adrian van Velsen – vvWine.ch-