Winemaker Notes
The 2017 J. Davies Estate Jamie opens with captivating aromas of boysenberry, vanilla and dark chocolate, with hints of black raspberry purée and coffee. The palate welcomes lush red and black fruits including blackberry and cherry, mingled with layers of star anise, baking spice, tobacco and wild thyme. The body is supported by finely grained tannins and a well-structured finish.
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Very arguably the finest J. Davies Jamie Cabernet to date and an imposing wine of riveting richness and depth, this is a showstopping offering that, even in its youth, shows extraordinary layering with complexing elements of vanilla, cola, toasty oak and dark, loamy soil as beautifully fit complements to its very pure, blackcurrant fruit. Despite having the structure and balance to age famously, it is open and accessible and still developing all at once, and though it is not at all hard to fully appreciate now, there is little question in our minds but that it will be nothing but better ten years from now and should, with careful cellaring, be a compelling study in top-tier Cabernet Sauvignon still upon reaching its twentieth anniversary
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Wine Enthusiast
From the producer’s high-elevation estate, this top-tier wine is thick in tannins and supple in tangy red fruit. Seamless and substantial, it spent more than two years aging in French oak, 75% of it new. Integrated oak and spice add to an earthy, complex undertone to it all.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A barrel sample blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Jamie has a pronounced nose of baked plums, sautéed herbs and tilled soil with underbrush, blackberry compote and boysenberries plus a waft of cedar. The palate is full-bodied, firm and chewy with generous black fruit preserves and a long earthy finish.
Range: 91-93
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Diamond Mountain is the northernmost mountain appellation in the Mayacamas Range, on the northwest side of the valley floor, above the town of Calistoga. Defined mainly by elevation, vineyards are planted at 400 to 2,200 feet.
Diamond Mountain vineyards receive plenty of sunshine at these elevations and are typically above the coastal fog line. But given its western proximity, the area still easily cools down from early morning and late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes. The AVA (American Viticultural Area) covers 5,000 acres but just over 500 acres are under vine.
Diamond Mountain soils, mainly weathered, red sedimentary rock and decomposed, volcanic ash, are infertile, quick-draining and produce small, thick-skinned grapes, bursting with chewy tannins.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Zinfandel have great success here.
Like other sub-appellations in Napa Valley, the Diamond Mountain area had no shortage of pioneer winemakers. Rudy von Strasser led the effort for Diamond Mountain to acquire AVA status in 1999.