Lot 47 2005 Diamond Mountain Cabernet
- Vintage: 2005
- Appellation: Diamond Mountain, Napa Valley
- Grape: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot
- Alcohol by volume: 14.5%
- Production: 400 cases
- Release date: September 25, 2007
- Online availability: Sold Out
Taste: Deep, dark, and intense purple color. Brooding nose of tight fruit opens slowly to show pretty French oak, toasty mocha and high-toned blueberry fruit. Opulent mid-palate showcases toasty oak and a symphony of classic Napa currant and cassis flavors. Succulent, juicy, ripe and gorgeous with outstanding depth this wine has a 30 second finish that will continue to flesh out as she ages. This elegant wine can be enjoyed now (versus her sister wine, Lot 33 Spring Mountain Cabernet, that is still very tight) with a great big steak or will age gracefully for another 10-15 years. Combination of 75% new and 25% one-year-old French oak.
Cameron Confidential: This is another "wow" wine from the mountain districts of Napa Valley. The Diamond Mountain appellation has less than 500 acres under vineyard so the wines tend to be expensive (I can’t find a bottle under $50 except for one at $30 that calls itself the "bargain" wine of Diamond mountain) but exceptionally well-made. There are only about 15 wineries up here and this wine comes to us from a small winery with two small vineyards. The vineyards are actually on the edge of an old volcano. This is a blend my winemaker put together with components from each of their single vineyard designate programs which sell between $50 and $75.
One of the great things about this wine is that it is singing in the bottle just a month after bottling and is much more open and accessible than the Lot 33 Spring Mountain Cabernet which, while a monumental wine, is tighter than a frog’s tookus . That said, its still only has 2-3 months in the bottle and additional time will flesh it out considerably. I do recommend at least an hour of decanting in the near term. Again, the patient will be rewarded.
