Photo courtesy of Dalla Valle Vineyard

Book Two of Dalla Valle Story
You Don’t Want to Miss This

“I know that the greatest wineries are judged in terms of decades and generations, and that our story is still being written.” –Maya Dalla Valle

Dalla Valle has always held a special place in my wine repertoire. It is one of my all-time favorites of Oakville and selfishly one that I appreciated did not get nearly as much attention as I know the property rightfully deserves. This is one of Napa Valley’s greatest vineyards without question and dollar for dollar just as good as the more famous and infamous names of Oakville, even Screaming Eagle.

Founded by Naoko and Gustav Dalle Valle, today the vineyard is managed by Naoko and her daughter Maya. Maya, the second generation of Dalle Valle, not only is the estate director but winemaker, who pulls from a vast experience from working alongside simply some of the best of all time. Growing up in Napa Valley with a vineyard named after you, Maya was destined to be a winemaker. With role models and teachers like Heidi Barrett, Mia Klein, Tony Soter, Andy Erikson, and Michel Roland it was impossible for Maya to not embrace vineyards and winemaking as she has. Her studies and travels before assuming winemaking responsibilities at Dalla Valle took Maya to work at Bodegas Rolland, Petrus, Chateau Latour and Ornellaia e Masseto. 

Maya’s influences on the wines of Dalla Valle are now fully present and extremely timely. While so many in Napa Valley are struggling with restraint, balance and the richness of the past several harvest, Maya assisted by her team and rockstar consultants of Andy Erikson and Michel Rolland have not only polished and illuminated the core identity of Dalla Valle to even greater brightness, but most importantly achieved a freshness and classic timeless feel in the wines. 

"I was blown away by the 2019s at Dalla Valle. Maya Dalle Valle seems to have given these wines a touch more vibrancy and detail while retaining the statuesque opulence that is such a house signature. The Cabernet and Maya are once again superb. I find just as much joy and pure pleasure in the entry-level Collina Dalla Valle for more near-term drinking." – Antonio Galloni, October 2021

Book two of the Dalla Valle story is starting off on a tremendous highnote. The wines of Dalla Valle from Maya and Erikson are nothing short of spectacular since 2016. The evolution in just four vintages culminating with 2019 only solidifies that Maya has only just begun to make the finest wines at Dalla Valle yet.

While I am content to let my offer end there, there is simply more to story and wines to be discussed. Maya Dalle Valle has also embarked on a new project in Napa Valley in collaboration with some of her mentors and dear friends of Ornellaia. DVO (Dalle Valle & Ornrellaia) is a Napa Valley project led by Maya and Alex Heinz, estate director of Ornellaia. This project explores the concept of blending grapes across the valley, focusing on using multiple microclimates from Coombsville, Mt. Veeder and of course Oakville. 2018 was the inaugural vintage and in 2019 DVO is a resounding success much like all of the Dalle Valle wines. The range of critical acclaim for the 2019 Dalla Valle wines is tremendous with the flagship Maya receiving two 100 point scores and the 2019 DVO being named part of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wine of the Year, with only their second vintage!

See, I told you, Book Two of the Dalle Valle story is starting off tremendously well and we are all poised for another 30 plus years of tremendous wine. 

Cheers,
Jeremy