Diamond Mountain District comprises a sector of the Mayacamas Range where intense sunshine and free-draining soils put enough stress on well-managed vines to produce fruit with superior balance and concentration. Two distinct Cabernet Sauvignon clones from Provenance Vineyards' Peterson Vineyard contribute diverse primary flavors of blackberry, plum, sage, and graphite, as well as a well-proportioned mouthfeel to their 2018 release. Add to that the toasted vanilla, spice, and mocha accents from new French oak barrel aging for a complex Napa Valley red wine worth revisiting over the next decade. Now with 63% savings and free shipping on two bottles, you'll need to act fast!
Member Rating: 93
Tech Notes
Wine Details
James Suckling
| Unit Size | 750.00 ML |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon
|
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Grape | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Country | United States |
| Appellation | Diamond Mountain District |
| Region | Napa Valley
|
| Alcohol Content | 15.30% |
By Provenance Vineyards
2018 Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker's Notes
As our name suggests, the pedigree of Provenance Vineyards wines is of utmost importance. We go straight to the source for the highest quality Napa Valley fruit, forging enduring relationships with the region's top wine grape growers. We rely on the finest winemaking traditions to produce elegant, powerful wines.
Wine Profile
Our 2018 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon expresses the bold, mountain-grown fruit of its provenance's vineyard on Diamond Mountain, part of the Mayacamas Range flanking Napa Valley on the west. Terroir nuances of forest, loam, slate, graphite, and dried herbs like mountain sage, anise seed, and wild violet layer the intense macerated blackberry, dark plum, blueberry, black cherry, and mocha aromas. Supported by sweet baking spice notes from the oak barrel integration, you'll find allspice, vanilla bean, cardamom, and charred toast notes from new French oak barrels. The wine is beautifully balanced and well-structured, from the full, rich, and silky entry on the palate to the persistent, dark-fruit lengthy finish. Muscular yet fine-grained tannins support the wine and promise cellar-worthiness.
Vineyard
The beautiful, forested Diamond Mountain District, designated an American Viticultural Area in 2001, rises 2,200 feet above northern Napa Valley. We select the grapes for our Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from vines in blocks 3C and 6A of our estate vineyard, Peterson Vineyard. Block 3C is budded to Cabernet Sauvignon clone 169, while Block 6A is clone 4. The vineyard site's deep, well-draining Aiken loam soils, iron-rich and acidic, are formed from weathered volcanic rock. Cool breezes coming through the Sonoma Gap give the grapes excellent sugar-to-acid balance and long hang time.
Winemaking
We hand-sorted the grapes first in the vineyard as we picked them at dawn and then again at the winery for optimum quality. We cold-soaked the must for gentle extraction and fermented it in a combination of 60-gallon oak barrels (to integrate tannins seamlessly) and stainless steel tanks. Following extended maceration and pressing, the wine completed malolactic fermentation in barrels to round the acidity and enrich the mouthfeel. Gentle rackings naturally clarified the wine, while barrel aging melded complex oak nuances with the ripe, dark-fruit expression.
Technical Details
Grape: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 15.30%
[Information provided by Merchant 23]
PROVENANCE CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA VALLEY DIAMOND MOUNTAIN DISTRICT 2018
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Country: United States
Region: California
Vintage: 2018
Score: 95
Aromas of fresh blackberries, violets, pine cone, roasted coffee, black tea and oyster shell. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tight and chewy tannins. There’s freshness and elegance to the tannin structure with pretty forest and mineral character. Try from 2025.
