Winemaker Notes
Gravelly Meadow often evokes freshly tilled earth, currant, plum, and ripe blackberry flavors, well-defined, elegant tannins and a mineral, persistent finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow comes from a 5-acre vineyard planted on stony and gravelly soils. While it is the most evolved and forward of this trio, it is by no means fully mature as it easily needs 3-5 more years of cellaring. Aromas of wet rocks, smoky barbecue nuances, vanillin, black currants, graphite and chocolate emerge from this full-bodied, opulent, somewhat austere red. The great purity and exuberance of Napa Cabernet fruit is underlaid by a Bordeaux-like tannic structure. A sensational effort, it will easily last another 2-3 decades. These three extremely youthful and impressive wines from Diamond Creek Vineyards are all backward and in need of 5-7 years of additional cellaring. By the way, each of these three vineyards has the exact same percentage of grapes (88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot) planted in them, which makes comparing them fascinating.
Rating: 95(+) -
Wine Enthusiast
Tremendous aromatics on this young wine: a blast of refined cassis, cedar, pine cone, green olives and even roasted meat. Rich and forward in ripe fruit character, and the bigtime tannins are polished. This is an excellent but very young wine.
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.