Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The dense purple-tinged 2002 Diamond Mountain District Young Vines offers rich, sumptuous aromas of burning embers, smoke, blackberries, currants, and a gravel-like hot rock component interwoven with licorice and earth. Supple-textured and full-bodied, with more flamboyance and accessibility than the more muscular 2001, it will drink well for 8-14 years.
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Wine & Spirits
A beauty layered in black. Give this time, and scents of rose, red raspberry and purple plum all begin to emerge from the dark intensity. The fine musculature becomes more apparent, as does the elegance of all its richness in control. This wields tannic power within the fruit itself, completely integrated so the elements yield amplitude and a lasting savor, all their forces combined. This vintage comes from a vineyard above Diamond Creek, planted on gravelly clay-loam soils.
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Wine Spectator
Aging very well, very rich and concentrated, with a smoothness to the texture. Melted chocolate, date-nut bread and dried berry give this a rich range of flavors. Turns firm on the finish, where the tannins are chewy, yet ripe flavors push through. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.'
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.