2002 | Diamond Creek | Gravelly Meadow 30th Anniversary Edition

Gravelly Meadow often evokes freshly tilled earth, currant, plum, and ripe blackberry flavors, well-defined, elegant tannins and a mineral, persistent finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow comes from a 5-acre vineyard planted on stony and gravelly soils. While it is the most evolved and forward of this trio, it is by no means fully mature as it easily needs 3-5 more years of cellaring. Aromas of wet rocks, smoky barbecue nuances, vanillin, black currants, graphite and chocolate emerge from this full-bodied, opulent, somewhat austere red. The great purity and exuberance of Napa Cabernet fruit is underlaid by a Bordeaux-like tannic structure. A sensational effort, it will easily last another 2-3 decades.

• Connoisseurs Guide: From its very deep, convincingly Cabernet aromas to its substantial, insistently fruity flavors, this outstanding wine exhibits a compelling sense of layered richness with creamy oak, caramel, loamy earth and glimmers of dried herbs appended to its deep and succulent themes of ripe currants. For all of its very impressive richness and its initially outgoing manner, however, it sports a streak of youthfully tough astringency at the finish, and we suspect that it will show its full potential only after some six to ten years have passed.

Producer Information

The winery was founded by Al and "Boots" Brounstein. Al, the former owner of a successful pharmaceutical business in Los Angeles, got into wine when taking a class at UCLA on French wine appreciation. After working a few harvests at Ridge Vineyards, he decided that he wanted to have his own property. He visited a then unplanted property on Diamond Mountain. After consulting with the famed Andre Tchelistcheff and Louis Martini, he purchased it and planted it all to Cabernet Sauvignon. After Al passed away in 2006, Boots ran the winery with her son Phil Ross until her death in 2019. The following year the business was acquired by the Rouzaud family of Maison Louis Roederer, who had known the Brounstein family since the 1990s.
Diamond Creek Vineyards lies at about 800ft (245m) of elevation. Warm valley air rises along Diamond Creek from the northeast. These are balanced by cool ocean breezes from the west. There are three distinct soil types in its three main vineyards. These are largely separated by small lakes, Diamond Creek itself, and tree blocks. However all have a section which looks onto a pond in the center of the property. Red Rock Terrace (7 acres/2.8 hectares) sits on a steep hillside with iron-rich soils, facing northwest and overlooked by the winery. It is in a warmer part of the property and produces Cabernet Sauvignon that is more approachable in its youth than other Diamond Creek offerings. Gravelly Meadow (5 acres/2ha) is located on an old riverbed, and has shallow, alluvial soils with exceptional drainage. Low-yielding vines produce concentrated, tannic fruit. Volcanic Hill is the largest site at 8 acres (3.2ha), named for its grey-volcanic soils and its hilltop location. It is considered to produce the most ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon. In certain years, Diamond Creek also produces a Lake Vineyard Cabernet from the three-quarter-acre (0.3ha) plot of that name to the west of Gravelly Meadow across another small lake. However, this is the property's coolest macrooclimate, and in most years the fruit does not get ripe enough to meet the strict standards here.

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