Winemaker Notes
Volcanic Hill is a full-bodied Cabernet with ripe berry fruit, smoky richness, scented earth and elegant tannins that make the wine alluring in youth but eminently age-worthy.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The star of my visit to Diamond Creek was the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill, which shows awesome purity and length. Vanilla accents blackberry, cassis and plum notes on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, leading into a tremendously long finish, bursting with classic Cabernet fruit. It could use a few years in the cellar to gain nuance, and it should drink well for two decades or more after that.
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James Suckling
Dark plums and blackcurrants with mint and spearmint undertones. Some ink, too. Medium to full body with fine, creamy tannins. Long and beautiful, fruity finish with dark fruit. Needs times to show itself. A little shy.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and zesty in feel, with a racy-edged set of raspberry, red currant and bitter plum coulis flavors inlaid with violet and singed alder and apple wood accents. A long iron tang runs underneath on the finish, adding length and cut. Best from 2024
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Connoisseurs' Guide
14% Merlot; 7% Malbec; 3% Petit Verdot. Right from the first displaying very good fruity definition and depth with layers of sweet oak and hints of cola rising to complement its central theme of optimally ripened currants, this wine shows considerably more detail and polish than its riper, more blustery Gravelly Meadows mate. Though definitely built for aging and not a Cabernet that wants drinking any time soon, there is an inkling of suppleness already at work and the promise of more to come once its integral, finely fit tannins have eased. A half dozen years of patience are guaranteed to pay big dividends, and we see no less than a full decade of increasing refinement in its future.
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.