2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill
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Tasting notes
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill doesn't have the seamless balance of the Red Rock Terrace, and also finishes with a chewy, tarry style that gives me pause. Nevertheless, it was a solid core of sweet fruit and certainly offers charm, and it's one of those very subtly smoke tainted wines that could easily go undetected. I'd drink bottles if I had them, but it certainly is worth enjoying today.
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Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill is a huge, inky wine draped in a veneer of new oak. Even so, this site has so much character that its personality comes out just the same. Inky red fruit, iron, cedar, tobacco, licorice, mocha and dried herbs gradually emerge. There is a bit of brett in the 2017, so appreciating it will require a forgiving palate, especially as those wilder, rustic notes will almost certainly become more pronounced in time.
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill is composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. It was aged for 22 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has pronounced notes of blackcurrant cordial, boysenberries, baked plums and kirsch with wafts of cloves, wild sage and woodsmoke. The full-bodied palate is a tad rustic in texture with a charry, acrid character on the finish, albeit with otherwise pleasant freshness and spiciness.
Beautiful aromas of brambleberries and blueberries with some conifer and mushrooms. Floral, too. Medium to full body, very fine tannins and succulent fruit and spices. Extremely long and subtle. Glorious and refined now, but will be better with age. Try after 2022.
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.