2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill is a huge, flamboyant wine. Winemaker Phil Steinschreiber certainly did not hold back. Inky, deep and voluptuous, the 2015 offers up copious super-ripe fruit slathered in 100% new oak, with some lots seeing new barrels again in the second year of aging. Inky blue fruit, dark chocolate, menthol, vanillin and cloves make a strong statement before incisive Volcanic Hill tannins pull it all together on the close.
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Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill is the most savory and mineral-driven of these three Cabernets from Diamond Creek. Graphite, gravel, crème de cassis, lavender, menthol and plum are all finely sketched. The Volcanic Hill shows a good deal of the nuance that makes wines from this part of the estate so compelling, but in a far more approachable style than I can recall encountering previously. I would prefer to give the 2015 a few years to develop a bit of aromatic complexity, but opening a bottle on the young side is hardly a crime.
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill opens with dusty soil, cloves and fragrant earth scents with a core of red and black cherry preserves, plum pudding, blackcurrant cordial and mocha with touches of cedar chest and potpourri. Very big, rich and decadently fruited, it fills the mouth with powerful fruit and a taut frame of fine-grained tannins plus great freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
About the producer
Diamond Creek, Napa’s first single-vineyard Cabernet estate, has defined terroir-driven winemaking since 1968. Founded by Al and Boots Brounstein, the winery pioneered site-specific Cabernet, producing age-worthy wines from Gravelly Meadow, Red Rock Terrace and Volcanic Hill.