Bella Oaks

From time to time in the Napa Valley, historic vineyards change hands. What follows is a completely new and reimagined expression of a great terroir….

Such is the case with Bella Oaks, a storied and historic plot whose name is synonymous with the pioneering spirit of Napa in the 1960s. Most recently purchased by Suzanne Deal Booth in 2010, the property today produces just 300 cases of its proprietary red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from the famed Oakville benchlands just north of To Kalon.

The Bella Oaks story begins with Barney and Belle Rhodes, who purchased the property in 1968, having been early investors in Oakville’s first lady, Martha’s Vineyard. On the advice of close friend Joe Heitz, they planted the entire site to Cabernet Sauvignon, and for the next 34 years, they sold the fruit exclusively to Heitz Cellars. The Rhodes were legendary entertainers and gastronomes, and throughout the 1970s and 80s, their home at Bella Oaks was an epicentre for fine dining and entertaining. Many credit them with creating the culture of hospitality that the valley is known for today.

When art philanthropist Suzanne Deal Booth purchased the property just over a decade ago, she was initially drawn to Bella Oaks’ unique place in the history of the valley. Hiring the valley’s foremost viticulturalist David Abreu she set about replanting and optimising this great terroir armed with Abreu’s encyclopaedic understanding of growing grapes in the Napa Valley. The wine was sold to Staglin for a number of years, but in 2017, Deal Booth decided that such an iconic site needed its own voice. Alongside David Abreu she hired star wine maker Nigel Kinsman as well as uber-consultant and blending expert Michel Rolland – a veritable dream team to restore this site to the glory days of old. The inaugural vintage released under the new team is the 2018