Dalla Valle & Ornellaia DVO 2017
(Napa Valley, California) - [WA 92]

About DVO:
DVO is a partnership between Dalla Valle Vineyards of Oakville and Ornellaia, the Tuscan estate in Bolgheri, announced in 2021 after several years of quiet work together. The aim is a Napa Valley red that pairs the expressiveness of Napa with an Italian approach to elegance. Maya Dalla Valle oversees the project day to day, with Ornellaia’s Axel Heinz collaborating through the 2022 vintage. The fruit comes from cooler sites at the southern end of the valley, including Coombsville, Mount Veeder and Oakville, and the first commercial release was the 2018 vintage.

About the Wine:
The 2017 was the first vintage the two estates made together. It was bottled but held back while the partners waited for a stronger vintage to launch with, and the 2018 became the official debut. The Drinks Business reported in 2021 that only about 200 cases of the 2017 existed.

Technical Details

Producer: Dalla Valle Vineyards and Ornellaia

Appellation: Napa Valley

Ratings & Reviews

92 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Not commercially released—the 2018 DVO was the official debut—DVO's 2017 Red Wine is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon and 34% Cabernet Franc, sourced from Mount Veeder, Coombsville and Oakville. In retrospect, this was probably a wise decision, as this wine seems to already be showing its age, moving into its cedary, cigar box stage of maturity, with pronounced hints of smoke and tobacco. Still backed by plummy fruit, this full-bodied effort is a bit coarsely textured in the mouth and open-knit. While it should remain very enjoyable over the next several years, there seems no point in additional cellaring. Drinking Window: 2023-2030." -Joe Czerwinski (Jul 2024)