I had a friend stop buy to look over and buy a few bottles of wine as I'm downsizing my cellar in preparation for a move to a smaller place. After he picked out his wines I opened a bottle of 1986 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet to enjoy with Kobe burgers. The wine had a slight brickish cast to it but otherwise was a clear garnet in the glass. Aroma of red dirt and minerals were primary then red fruits and plums with hints of cedar. Medi um bodied on the palate more reminiscent of Bordeaux than Napa. Still plen ty of fruit with a firm mineral core and leather, tobacco and cedary notes on the finish. A solid "B"
1986 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Napa Cabernet
Aug 05, 2016
4 Replies
Great note, Bill. '86 was the third of a string of good vintages but got somewhat overlooked in the shadow of '84. Those old Diamond Creek Cabs are lovely wines. Glad that yours was still doing well.
Mark Lipton
I still have a few left and so far not a bad one in the bunch. I was fortu nate to have visited DC and number of times and spent some time with Al and Boots in the vineyard and cellar. Nice folks very passionate about their wines and property. They never seemed to give in to trends in winemaking b ut they let the terroir speak for itself.
A Napa that's like a Bordeaux? what a surprise :p
dium bodied on the palate more reminiscent of Bordeaux than Napa. Still pl enty of fruit with a firm mineral core and leather, tobacco and cedary note s on the finish. A solid "B"
It shouldn't be surprising. The late owner and founder, Al Brounstein, alle gedly smuggled in cuttings from two first growth Bordeaux vineyards to plan t his three "microclimates" with. The winemaking is made in a fairly low a lcohol, high tannic level style made for long aging.
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