Nichols Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain 2021

On Diamond Mountain, in the northwest corner of the Napa Valley, there are no giant estates. The landscape, craggy, volcanic, and incredibly hard to work: the rugged terrain requires hand harvesting, and the volcanic soils and water-stressed vines naturally produce low yields…it’s just too damn expensive to farm the land.

But the wine that can come from Diamond Mountain can be stunningly good, powerful, with a unique intensity, complex aromatics, and concentrated blackberry fruit. Collectors love them as they age gracefully and are extremely limited in supply.

Nichols 2021 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon came from a tiny parcel of old-vine vineyards whose roots have dug deep into the rocky, volcanic soil. The parcel only gave up a meager 60 cases of finished wine, but my, those tiny berries were ultra-concentrated with flavor.

This is rich, powerful Cabernet, just jammed with black-cherry and blackberry fruit, tightly framed by firm tannins. This wine is structured to last but has a fruit quality to it that will make it hard not to drink this holiday season with any type of roasted meat.