Today we share the magical wines of Chef Dustin Valette. Valette is a limited-production wine brand crafted by star winemakers such as Jesse Katz, Tom Rochioli and David Ramey.
One of the famed Sonoma chefs, Valette formerly was at Thomas Keller’s one-Michelin-star Bouchon in the Napa Valley and later worked at Michelin-starred Aqua in San Francisco, finally as executive sous chef under Laurent Manrique. Back in 2015 he opened his own restaurant, Valette in Healdsburg. The cuisine here is focused on modern American with a French twist. I recently visited both Valette and his other outpost, The Matheson, and was floored by the food quality and service.
I love this brand of wines. Katz and his fellow winemaker Hillary Sjolund have a knockout new wine, the 2023 Valette Cabernet Sauvignon (OB, 100) which is sinfully good right now. I am so enamored by this wine that is very nervy from this slightly cooler vintage. So without further adieu here are my reviews of the new releases by Valette. Learn more at https://www.valettewines.com/
2025 Valette Rose- Sourced from the Russian River Valley, this 2025 Valette Rose offers wild mushroom and red rose petals on the nose. The palate is rich and viscous with terrific length and weight. 100% Pinot Noir. Drink 2026-2032- 92
2024 Valette ‘Rochioli Vineyard’ Chardonnay- All sourced from this famed site, this 2024 Chardonnay utilizes three clones of Chardonnay from the River Block. Golden in the glass, this offers heady tropical and nutmeg laced melon fruits with buttered sourdough bread. The palate is rich and viscous with tremendous salty minerality. Drink 2026-2036- 96
2022 Valette ‘Bush Crispo’ Pinot Noir- Sourced from this location in the Russian River Valley, the 2022 Valette ‘Bush Crispo’ Pinot Noir offers cola, sassafras and rich strawberry notes on the nose. Despite the heat of the vintage, this shows serious tension alongside ripe red fruits with orange peel accents and suggestions of bergamot. Drink 2026-2034- 94
2023 Valette ‘Sonoma Coast’ Pinot Noir- Sourced from four separate locations in the Sonoma Coast AVA, the 2023 Valette ‘Sonoma Coast’ Pinot Noir offers cola, red currants and salty minerals alongside orange peel tones on the palate. Showing great length and freshness, enjoy now and over the next decade. Drink 2026-2034- 94
2023 Valette ‘Bush Crispo’ Pinot Noir- The outtanding 2023 Valette ‘Bush Crispo’ Pinot Noir derives black truffle, black cherry compote and shades of eucaloyus on the nose. The palate is dense and nervy with plenty of salty tension and weight. Finishing very long with sea salt dusted red fruits and peat moss accents, enjoy now and over the next ten plus years to come. Drink 2026-2040- 95
2023 Valette ‘Sonoma County’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Sourced from several locations in the Sonoma Valley, the 2023 ‘Sonoma County’ opens with cassis and dark currants alongside pencil lead and violets. The palate has incredible volume and tension as this glides throughout the drinking experience. This offers some serious value at 85 bucks retail and is irresistible to enjoy now. Drink 2026-2036- 95
2023 Valette ‘Skellenger Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2023 Valette ‘Skellenger Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon is a knockout, weightless bottling that is showing incredibly well. This is impeccably balanced, with incredible verve and tension with salty minerality. Creme de violette, tar, tobacco, with amazing loamy soil character. A complete wine, with tremendous richness and nerve, enjoy over the next two decades to come. Drink 2026-2046- 100
2023 Valette ‘Pocket Peak’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Sourced from the Pocket Peak AVA the 2023 stands inky in the glass. This location is set at 2300 feet, as this has marvelous astringency and chalky minerality. The palate is intense and highly nervy with amazing viscosity and flavor density. A world-class wine, coming from rocky soils that bleeds through the core of the wine, enjoy over the next two decades. This wine leaves no doubt that it is a perfect wine. Drink 2026-2046- 100