2021 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace
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Tasting notes
From the 2ha Red Rock Terrace single vineyard. A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon with 6% Petit Verdot and 6% Malbec (the estate's non-Cabernet Sauvignon varieties are mostly planted at the bottom of Volcanic Hill). Fermentation in small, open-top fermenters, followed by a cold soak and gentle extraction of up to 21 days on skins. Aged 20 months in nearly 75% new French Oak and aged one year in bottle before release. Super perfumed nose of rose petals, cassis, olive tapenade, and mocha spices. Medium to full-bodied with generous, mineral-laced red berry fruits, black cherry, and pomegranate seed. This is a precise and beautifully polished wine with a Pauillac-like quality in this mesmerising mineral character and pure-fruited precision. Nuances of white pepper and sagebrush layer in complexity, and a wealth of firm tannins are underscored by a spine of racy acidity. Tension, tension, tension. This may be one of the most age-worthy Red Rock Terrace bottlings yet. Let's check back in around 2050, with several intermittent ‘check-ins’ along the way. During my visit in June of 2024, Nicole Carter (president) and winemaker Graham Wehmeier took me on a tour of the property to get an upfront and close look at Diamond Creek's single vineyards (Volcanic Hill, Gravelly Meadow, and Red Rock Terrace). Graham, who joined in 2020, has dialled down the toast levels on the oak and is exploring new cooperages. The wines are more expressive of site than ever, with a freshness factor dialled way up.
Critic scores
Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
A blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% each Malbec and Petit Verdot, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace features a dusting of dried spices over a bed of mixed red and black cherries. It's medium to full-bodied, firmly structured but ripe. Yes, the cherries and red raspberries on the lingering finish are coated in dusty tannins, but the wine is still not completely unapproachable.
Dark and winey, with plum reduction, mulberry paste and blackberry compote flavors compressed with notes of ganache, roasted apple wood and licorice root. A violet flash on the finish adds lift. There's plenty of energy in reserve for the cellar, too. Best from 2026 through 2042. 342 cases made.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace is a gorgeous, elegant wine that captures all the savory, feral and mineral qualities typical of this battling, but with polished refined tannins that are quite a departure from the past. Vivid and dynamic in the glass, with striking balance, the Red Rock Terrace is superb. The linear, tense finish is beautifully persistent, with floral top notes that echo.
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.