Winemaker Notes
Volcanic Hill is the longest lived of our wines. Our winemaker describes these wines as "full bodied, loaded with intense ripe berry fruit, cassis, violets and a smoky richness, finishing with good length and firm tannins." The Volcanic Hill bottling includes a small amount of the extra-ordinary Petit Verdot grape.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The longer this wine breathes in the glass the better it gets. At first sip, it's obviously a very good wine, richly tanninc and deeply impressive in blackberries, cassis and oak, with a firm minerality that grounds it. But as it warms and airs, the fascinating palate begins to unfold. Will age effortless for many years. Drink now-2020
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Wine & Spirits
Volcanic Hill, a white slope facing south, creates the most generous wine of Diamond Creek's estate vineyards. Now that more than half the slope has been replanted, that generosity is emphasized by the exhuberance the younger vines bring to the blend, though the wine is also insanely tannic. It opens with floral scents of violets and builds to a rich intensity of dark fruit and soil-driven tannin. The richness of 2007 is weel sutied to the character of Volcanic hill.
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.