Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a benchmark hillside estate founded in 1968 by Al Brounstein, the first in California to bottle 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from individual blocks. Red Rock Terrace takes its name from the iron-rich, red volcanic soil of this particular terrace, whose colour and mineral content mark the wine. The site sits on the slopes above Calistoga in Napa Valley, where well-drained hillside soils restrict vine vigour and warm days with cool nights bring full ripeness while holding acidity and aromatic freshness. The wine is a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon farmed sustainably. Ageing lasts eighteen months in 225-litre French oak barrels; the small barrel format gives a high ratio of wood to wine, so measured oxygen ingress softens Cabernet's firm tannin and layers in cedar and sweet spice. The colour is deep purple. The nose shows blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar over an earthy, mineral note that reflects the red volcanic soil. The palate is full bodied and structured, with firm but ripe tannin and a long, savoury finish built to age. Serve at 18 degrees, decanted an hour or two ahead. It calls for grilled red meat.