2018 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow California Red

2018 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow

98 JS

Featured Review

Crushed stone fruit, blackcurrants, bay leaf, iodine and seaweed. Full-bodied with blue fruit, firm tannins and super length. It’s austere and so focused. Great length. Needs time to open and show its true self. Harkens back to the late 1970s. Try after 2026. James Suckling

James Suckling | 98 JS

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow is a blend of 78.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.4% Merlot, 8% Malbec and 5.1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slips effortlessly from the glass, singing of ripe black cherries, black raspberries and cassis, plus hints of red currants, roses, cinnamon stick and garrigue. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers lovely freshness, offering bags of perfumed black fruits in the mouth, beautifully supported by fine-grained tannins, finishing long with lots of soft-spoken floral and mineral whispers. This perfumed beauty wears the 2018 vintage stamp well, presenting a more delicate expression of this vineyard—one that I love! 647 cases were made.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP

Diamond Creek's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow is sensual, racy and pliant, with striking aromatic presence and gorgeous mid-weight structure. Rose petal, lavender, spice, menthol and red/purplish fruit all grace this silky Cabernet. Best of all, the 2018 will drink well with minimal cellaring.

Antonio Galloni | 95 AG

Diamond Creek was acquired by the Rouzaud family of Champagne Louis Roederer in March 2020. The 2ha Gravelly Meadow vineyard sits at 170m in one of the Diamond Creek estate’s cooler microclimates, on the pebbly, free-draining soils of an ancient riverbed. After a ‘a near-perfect’ growing season, the 2018 vintage is based on 79% Cabernet Sauvignon with portions of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, aged in 100% new French oak for 21 months. Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW: Lots of blackcurrant, very ripe, rich mouthfeel, tannins very high, quite austere and chalky, oak well integrated. James Doidge MW: Sherbet and strawberry aromas, intense blackcurrant, strawberry and black pepper, vanilla and coffee. Long, lush. Stefan Neumann MS: Charming, inviting style, notes of mint, green tea, some lemon and/or orange blossom. Balanced, mellow, top-notch. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2040.

Decanter | 95 DEC

The 2018 Gravelly Meadow bottling of cabernet sauvignon is a fine, fine young wine. The wine comes in at the 14.5 percent alcohol that seems to be the comfort zone of ripeness of these wines in the twenty-first century, but the wine does not offer up any signs of sur maturité on either the nose or the palate. The bouquet is young, primary and very deep, delivering scents of cassis, stony soil tones, woodsmoke, cigar ash, currant leaf, a touch of dried eucalyptus and a very well-done, discreet framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is focused, full-bodied and structured, with a fine chassis of ripe tannin, a superb core of black fruit, fine mineral undertow and a long, primary, palate-staining and very promising finish. The stonier soils here normally give the Gravelly Meadow bottling more early detail than the soils of the clay and iron-rich Red Rock Terrace bottling, but in the 2018 vintage, I have the sense that the Gravelly Meadow is actually the more backward of these two bottlings. (Drink between 2038-2100)

John Gilman | 95 JG

This pebbly portion of the estate vineyard consists of five acres, originally planted in 1968. With small percentages of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, it is woody in forest, graphite and clove, with a silky, rounded and expansive palate of rich, red fruit. With balanced acidity and structure, it has a long, spicy finish of clove and will do well in the cellar. Enjoy best from 2028–2038.

Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

A powerful and tense vintage of Gravelly Meadow, the alluvial wash on the south bank of Diamond Creek, this cabernet emerges from its oak to present a summery, sunny side of Diamond Mountain. It begins to take shape in scents of fresh black currant, complete with leaves and stems, a little liqueur-like against the grip of the tannins, bright and racy. If you open it now, decant it long before dinner with a Florentine steak with garlicky broccoli rabe. —

Wine and Spirits | 94 W&S

Ripe and a bit showy in feel, with a blast of cassis and plum purée notes liberally laced with violet, singed applewood and red licorice notes. Then a nice mix of iron and warm stone accents cuts in on the finish, pulling everything together as the violet note takes an encore. Best from 2022 through 2038. 647 cases made.

Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Type of Wine	California Red : Whether it's Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Zinfandel, Californian red wine producers have a lovely habit of taking a varietal and expressing its essence in a unique, never before seen way. From Napa Valley to the regions south of Los Angeles, there's a red for everyone - and it's never too late to start exploring.
Varietal	Proprietary Blend : Proprietary Blend is a general term used to indicate that a wine is comprised of multiple grape varietals which are either “proprietary” to the winery or is blended and does not meet the required maximum or minimum percentage of a particular varietal. This also is the case for the grape’s place of origin, especially for region, appellation or vineyard designated wines. There are endless examples of blended wines which are labeled as “Proprietary Blend” and in conjunction with each region’s stipulated wine laws and regulations makes for a vast blanket for wines to fall into. Perhaps the simplest example is California; if a wine is to be labeled as Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, it is required to have at least 75% of the varietal (Cabernet Sauvignon) and 85% of the fruit must be cultivated from the Napa Valley wine district. If the wine does not meet the requirements, it is then labeled as Proprietary Blend.
Country	US : As one of the most prolific and innovative wine regions in the world, America is a joy to explore. Most wine connoisseurs will agree that the nation's finest and most compelling wines are being produced today, which means that we have front-row seats to one of the most inspirational stories in wine history. While other regions tend to focus on specific wine styles and have somewhat strict rules as to which varietals you could grow, areas like California have few such restrictions in place. As a result, creative visionaries behind America's most reputable estates have been able to develop compelling, unique, and innovative styles, with a level of terroir expression that rivals even France's largest giants.
Region	California : With a history of wine production that dates back to the 18th century, California currently sits as one of the world's most prolific and reputable wine regions. With an area as vast as California, you can expect a colorful collage of terroir profiles, a series of microclimates, and micro-environments that give the wine a unique, memorable appeal. The region's produce is far from homogenized in that sense, and it would take you countless hours to sample all of it. While the region boasts scars from the Prohibition era, it went through what can only be described as a viticultural Renaissance sometime after the 1960s. At that point, California went from a port-style, sweet wine region to a versatile and compelling competitor on the world market. Today, no matter which way your taste in wine leans, you can find a new favorite producer among California's most talented. Notable sub-regions include legendary names like Napa Valley and Sonoma County, places that any wine lover would die to visit. California's quintessential warm climate allows for incredibly ripe fruit expressions, a style that provides a stark contrast to Old World-inspired, earthy classics. Even where inspiration was clearly taken from staple French appellations, Californian winemakers put their own unique spin on the wine.
Subregion	Napa Valley
Appellation	Diamond Mountain District
Climat/Vineyard	Gravelly Meadow

Producer	Diamond Creek : In 1968 a piece of land in Diamond Creek canyon was about to be converted into a golf course; however, the property was destined for a much greater purpose. With a stroke of luck, the property was instead purchased by Al Brounstein, who decided to exploit the property’s unique terroir and grow single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Diamond Creek Vineyards was created. The property would become an iconic Napa Valley estate and the proprietor, a pioneer who defied modern conventions, changing the landscape of Bordeaux varietals grown in the Diamond Mountain AVA and making history. With incredible vision and foresight, Brounstein realized the potential for growing Cabernet Sauvignon in the property’s exceptional soil structure. His goal was to plant single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and to display the difference in the terroir and micro-climate in each unique vineyard site. This practice was unheard of at the time but Brounstein was undeterred and with vines from two Bordeaux First Growths, smuggled in from Mexico (so the legend goes) he began planting some of the acreage on his 79-acre property. Located in the narrow Diamond Creek canyon, the 21 acres under vine have extraordinary properties. The estate is divided into four separate parcels with each sharing similar commonalities. All four parcels are close to the same elevation of 600 feet and planted from budwood obtained from the same source. The terroir and micro-climate of each parcel; however, are very much unique in their own regards. Gravelly Meadow is a 5-acre parcel planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. It is relatively flat and was once a pre-historic riverbed, situated in one of the cooler micro-climates. The terroir is comprised of rocky, porous brown soils which drain rapidly, compelling the vines to struggle for moisture. In a warmer micro-climate, Red Rock Terrace is situated on 7-acres of steeply terraced landscape. Its rocky, red-tinted soil is high in oxidized iron content, which lends to its name. Due to its northerly aspect, the grapes receive less direct sunlight. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines are planted on a steep grade using a series of terraces. As one would expect, Volcanic Hill is planted on 8-acres of light, fluffy, ashy soil; remnants of the eruption of Mt. Konocti which occurred eight million years ago. This vineyard site is a south-facing hillside and its location grants it the warmest micro-climate. Volcanic Hill produces Diamond Creek’s most powerful and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon. The coolest micro-climate in the vineyard is a tiny 3/4 –acre parcel sitting at the western edge of the property. Lake Vineyard’s exposure to the breezes coming through the Mayacamas Canyon awards the grapes with extended “hang-time” on the vine. Its terroir is composed of loose, gravelly soil and is the wettest location in the vineyard. Lake Cabernet Sauvignon is produced only in the greatest vintages. In years not produced, its grapes are blended into Gravelly Meadow. It is the only site that was not planted in 1968, but was rather planted a few years later in 1972. The Diamond Creek wines debuted in the poor 1972 vintage but despite the difficult year, Brounstein was able to see the differences in each of the wines due to their distinctive soil types. This unimaginable, unique concept was well ahead of its time, making Diamond Creek the first California winery to produce wine made from only 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and to showcase each parcel’s distinctive terroir. Diamond Creek has gone on to become one of the most iconic and unique vineyards in Napa Valley, producing some of the most compelling Cabernet Sauvignons in California. The average annual production for all 21-acres is around 3,000 cases.