Von Strasser Diamond Mountain Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
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Bright and brisk, with the spark of Diamond Mountain’s volcanic soil, this is a powerful wine with restraint. The black fruit keeps rolling through the finish, kinetic and cool over the lovely richness of earthen tannins. Rudy von Strasser recently sold his winery and this estate vineyard, a 15-acre, south-facing hillside of mixed volcanic soils. He will continue to source fruit from these vines over the next several vintages.
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From an older block of estate vineyard, planted to budwood originally sourced from Martha's Vineyard, this 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 10% Malbec is not for the faint of heart or palate. Burly and expansive, its aromatics star, inviting in cedar, mocha and vanilla before black pepper and cherry take over. The tannins are velvety.
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Situated on Diamond Mountain in Napa Valley, the Von Strasser estate maintains six separate vineyards. When Rudy and Rita Von Strasser purchased the old Roddis Winery in 1990, the vineyards were planted in two stages. The oldest block, 2 acres in size, was planted in 1970 to budwood from Martha’s Vineyard. The second block, 4 acres in size, was planted in 1983, also with budwood from Martha’s Vineyard. In 1991, the von Strasser’s embarked upon a vineyard modernization, changing the entire vineyard to a high density, vertical trellis system. An acre of Petit Verdot was planted that year with an eye towards its future use in a unique Reserve bottling. In 1998, a new piece of hillside land was cleared and planted to vineyard. Today, the property consists of Cabernet Sauvignon (12 acres), Petit Verdot (2 acres), and Merlot (1 acre).
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.